


Show Me the Way

by lexiatel



Series: Let There Be No More Curse [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2018-09-19 19:14:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 96,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9456845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lexiatel/pseuds/lexiatel
Summary: A companion/sequel to "Let There Be No More Curse".Starting off in his first year at Hogwarts, Scorpius Granger-Malfoy juggles his responsibilities, his personal life, and the duty of being a gifted Healer (with the help of an amulet that was given to him at birth) as he ages throughout his life.**This is a stand-alone fanfiction.**





	1. Mirror, Mirror, Where Have You Gone?

**AN: Here's the sequel to "Let There Be No More Curse"! Enjoy! Please remember that this follows Scorpius and Talli (mostly Scorpius), not so much their parents, so Dramione will only make rare appearances.**

* * *

 

"Did you ever think we would be housemates?"

Scorpius Granger-Malfoy gave Edgar Weasley's question a thought over. Edgar was an only child and because of that, he practically got everything he wanted. He loved attention, but wasn't annoying about it like some kids would be who craved the same thing; he didn't force it upon people. Then again, Edgar didn't have to, he was funny, easy going, and an incredible Quidditch player.

Not that playing Quidditch was a quality that Scorpius sought in people. He thought it was okay to watch, though _he_ would _never_ actually play it himself, but a lot of magical children (and adults too) thought Quidditch was the best thing on Earth, so if someone was a good player, there's a good chance of them becoming very popular.

Edgar had a large family, and he wasn't the only one in it who was talented at Quidditch. He had plenty of cousins to compete and practice with; both James and Albus Potter were good players, and James had already joined a team in his second year! Louis Weasley was also a fantastic player, nearly able to play _every_ position! Then there was Molly, who had just been promoted to captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team last year.

The Weasleys (and Potters) were all taking after their parents who also had played Quidditch when they were in school years before— a couple of them had even played in the professional leagues after they graduated Hogwarts!

Besides being an excellent Keeper, Edgar was a true optimist, and he loved food— something his father often teased him for as it was an interest they both shared.

"If I had thought about it before today," Scorpius started as he lay down and pulled a quilt over his body, "I would have guessed you would have been sorted into Hufflepuff."

"Really? I thought the same of you!"

Scorpius smiled at his friend. He had known Edgar since he was real little, and he was happy to have a familiar face around. The other three boys he was dormed up with, Scorpius had never met before that night, and he was missing his family. Especially his sister, whom he was very close to.

"Do you miss your parents?" Scorpius asked.

Edgar scoffed in amusement. "It's been only ten hours since I waved good-bye to them! I've barely had time to miss them!"

"You miss yours already?" one of the other boys asked Scorpius. His name was Dallas Copperton, and he had a funny accent. One Scorpius couldn't exactly place.

"Yes," Scorpius admitted. He expected the other boys to tease him for saying that, but they didn't.

"I miss my dog," Warren Daniels said, shrugging.

"But not your family?"

Warren grinned. "Not yet," he answered Edgar.

The last boy occupying the dormitory was Simon Sirota. He did not add anything to the conversation, so Scorpius made an attempt to include him, but the boy didn't respond and ignored them all, staring up at the canopy of his bed.

Edgar sent Scorpius a look, but Scorpius assumed Simon was shy and apprehensive. Teddy Lupin (Scorpius's second cousin) said that a lot of first years were that way until they made friends.

Scorpius decided that he was going to be Simon's friend— _if_ he would allow it.

*/*

"You'll help me, right?" Edgar asked, taking out his Potions book from his bag. "My parents are absolutely lousy with this subject. Dad has forgotten practically _everything_! And Mum was never really a fan of Potions."

"I help you any other time, why wouldn't I now?"

"Great, thanks!"

"We should do alright. I've been watching my father do this for years, plus I studied a lot of books."

"Yes, Dad says you're a walking encyclopedia just like your mum."

Scorpius grinned. "If I wasn't, you can be certain that you would have a clueless Potions partner. Most aren't as lucky as I am to have a massive sized library of books."

"Thank Merlin you love sniffing words then!" Edgar's statement made them both laugh, and a few surrounding housemates joined in.

A short woman, barely taller than Scorpius, walked in, clapping her hands for their attention. The headmistress, Professor McGonagall, had introduced her to everyone right before the opening feast a couple nights back.

Professor Lockberry.

She was the shortest adult human Scorpius had ever seen. She didn't wear a dress nor a set of robes like most Professors did. Instead, she was dressed very Muggle-like: a pair of black jeans and a matching shirt with a frilly, white zip-up vest. Her dark blond hair was tied into a bun with two white pencils.

"For those of you who weren't paying attention Saturday night, I'm Professor Lockberry—" she turned and pointed her wand to the blackboard, casting a spell, which began writing her name on it with fancy lettering. "—your Potions professor. This is my first year teaching, just as it is your first year learning, and I'm looking forward to the upcoming year. Do you have any questions before I take attendance?"

A girl from the other side of the room raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss…?"

"Holly Dolly—"

Someone snickered. Professor Lockberry disapprovingly looked to where the noise had come from and narrowed her eyes.

"Miss Dolly, what is your question, dear?"

"Am I going to have to _touch_ certain… body… _parts_ of...of… _things_?" The girl looked green just from the thought.

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid so, but any student who feels a little queasy over slimey, smelly, severed body parts of innocent or not-so-innocent creatures, can request an anti-nausea potion from the informatory. Though, I do warn you, if you have just been introduced to potion drinking, the flavour of it is not at all appetizing!" She gave the room a sympathetic smile. "Anymore questions?"

Dallas raised his hand this time. "I grew up believing that the head off a shroomock is poisonous, yet I see it listed here in this book as an ingredient that we _digest_ …?"

"Oh, the controversial subject of shroomock…" Professor Lockberry displayed a grin. Scorpius sensed that it was fake. "And your name is?"

"Dallas Copperton, ma'am."

"Handled accordingly, shroomock heads are as harmless as fiddle fairies."

Scorpius squirmed in his seat. A sick feeling hit the pit of his stomach.

Fiddle fairies were far from harmless.

"I shall take attendance now," Professor Lockberry cut off a boy who intended to address that matter. "No more questions, please. Lower your hand, young man."

"She's a little nutty, isn't she?" Warren voiced after their lesson was over.

"We've barely even met her, give her a chance," Edgar defended their professor. "Not everyone is the same."

"Fiddle fairies are extremely dangerous," Scorpius stressed. "They are _not_ harmless."

"Aren't they the ones that eat your face off?" Dallas asked.

"No, you're thinking of the nose-eating sprites," Warren supplied.

"Fiddle fairies have been known to carry you off at sunset and then remove your toes one by one, bathing their new hatchlings with the blood that's been spilled from the wounds."

Edgar looked like he was about to throw up. "Okay, Scorpius, that's just disgusting!"

"They really do that?" Dallas was baffled.

Scorpius nodded. "There's a myth saying that they do it as a form of vengeance for us using their eggs in our potions, but I've found documentation which deems that as fiction. Fiddle fairies have been torturing humans for centuries, since before using their eggs in our brews."

"Let's not talk about this anymore," Edgar said, shuddering. "That's quite frightening to think about!"

"Which potions contain shroomock heads?" Warren asked warily. "I'd like to take precautions."

"None that we have to worry about consuming for a few years. They are unsafe for underdeveloped children to drink." Scorpius informed. "It stunts our growth."

"Would a potion like that stop a giant from growing?" Dallas wondered.

The boys didn't know the answer to that. "I'll look it up later and see if I can find out for you."

Warren cupped a hand to Scorpius's shoulder. "Now I like him," he said to the others. "He's going to _pretty_ useful to have around."

"Definitely," Edgar agreed.

Later that day, Scorpius saw Simon in the library and sat next to him after he had selected a few books that he would need for his Charms assignment.

"Hello there, Simon."

Simon turned a page to the book he was reading without giving Scorpius so much as a glance.

"I got a book that should help us understand the Wingardium Leviosa charm better."

"Do I look incompetent to you?" the other boy finally spoke, his voice full of venom.

Scorpius felt like he had been just been slapped in the face. "No, you look very intelligent actually, but I—"

"Assumed that I would need, much less _want_ your help?" Simon cut him off sharply. "Well, I don't, so go take your bloody book and find someone else who cares about your happy-go-lucky, sickly-sweet attitude."

"Alright." Scorpius slowly arose from the chair he had sat in. "Should you ever need help though—"

"Shove off, Mister Sunshine."

Scorpius reluctantly backed away as Simon glared at him until he was a few feet away. Simon then went back to reading.

"He's not a chatty chap," Warren said at dinner when Scorpius had asked the others if they had been able to talk with him.

"He ignores any of my efforts to get him to talk," Edgar added. "I'm surprised to hear that he has spoken at all."

"I asked him where he was from, but he gave me this look like I had just marked his mum for death or something," Dallas informed.

"He'll come around," Edgar told them, trying to remain positive. His lips tucked into his mouth when they looked over at Simon who was sitting a few seats down.

"He knows we're talking about him," Warren whispered, looking away from his cold eyes.

Scorpius felt a little guilty for gossiping about Simon, especially when Simon uprooted from the table and left the Great Hall in a hurry.

Scorpius concentrated on eating for the rest of the meal, not saying another word, having difficulties enough with swallowing down food while there was a big lump in his throat. He regretted not going after Simon, but he knew that would have been a pointless thing to do; it seemed like Simon didn't want any friends.

Scorpius was going to have to try a different approach, but he was lost on how to address the issue. He didn't want to push Simon into a friendship, but he had to do something.

He walked back to the common room in silence, skipping out on dessert. The corridors were nearly quiet as almost everyone was back at the Great Hall. He frowned, twirling an amulet that he had inherited from his family in his hands, intently thinking on how he could help Simon.

He was so absorbed in his thought process that he didn't notice the amulet was pulsing with a faint, green light.

*/*

It had been a week since Scorpius last seen any of his family. He had sent them letters and gotten quick replies full of questions. Talli (his sister) had the most though.

Talli was a Squib, so she could never come to Hogwarts. Ever. A couple years ago, she had accepted her magic status alright, but lately, because Scorpius wouldn't be around, she was moody.

Her letters were friendly enough, though messily written (he and Talli were nearly opposites, with her being the more rambunctious child, but Talli usually had decent handwriting. Her Muggle school wouldn't accept unreadable work). She stressed how much she missed him and how lonely she was without her big brother.

Talli wanted to know what Hogwarts was like, and Scorpius was honest with her. It was noisy, one had very little privacy, and he confessed that he was homesick.

Most siblings wouldn't miss one another until days or months have passed, but Talli and Scorpius were close. They had been born only ten months apart, with Talli's birth being premature. They were friends, and the separation was hard for them.

Scorpius at least had things to distract him, but all Talli had was her Muggle school and dance club. They didn't seem like enough.

Scorpius took out a mirror from his trunk, semi-excited to use it for the first time since he had started Hogwarts. He was only allowed to use it on weekends unless there was an emergency.

It was a device that his father had designed, acting sort of like the Muggle Skyping program: one looked into the mirror, said who they wanted to speak with and waited for a response, if they got one, a face would appear— the face of the person they had requested to talk with.

Scorpius and his family were testing it for the year, and if the mirror worked well, Father was going to have it mass produced so other people could talk to those they cared about while they were away.

"Hi, everyone," he greeted happily, seeing his mother, father, Talli and even Toogy (Father's house-elf) crammed together in order for him to see their faces.

"Hello, sweetheart," Mother said. "How is everything there? Are the classes too hard?"

"How are you getting along with your housemates?" Father asked.

"Has anyone played Quidditch yet?!"

Scorpius answered all their questions and talked to them for a while before he said he had to go to bed.

"Oh, must you?" Talli pouted after the others said their goodbyes. "We've barely gotten to talk!"

"I'm sorry, but I have a lot of things to do here. Mother wasn't lying when she said that they give you plenty of things to work on."

He also told her about Simon. "I think he could be Muggleborn. He might feel like he doesn't belong here."

Talli sighed. "I know _that_ feeling."

"I hope I can get him to loosen up."

"Your amulet is glowing," Talli noted suddenly, looking down at it. "Why does it do that if the curse is broken?"

She was speaking about the curse that a woman named Anne Marie Green had set on the Malfoy family when she was humiliated by one of Scorpius's ancestors. It was broken after his father spent a night with his mother (a Muggleborn, specifically Hermione Granger, the brightest witch of their generation) and conceived Scorpius. Upon his conception, a love bond was made between them, and they fell in love shortly after, eventually marrying almost two years later.

Scorpius absentmindedly cupped the amulet into his hand. Only he and Grandfather knew why it lit up like it would, and he only just realized that this would be the second Saturday in eight years that he hadn't gone to St. Mungo's to see if he could help a patient there.

The amulet had healing powers (though his grandfather thought that it was Scorpius who was the one that wielded the power), and Scorpius had been using the amulet to help people since he was still in his nappies. He didn't want people to know— something Grandfather had advised him to keep secret until he was fully grown. The elder man feared that Scorpius would be treated more like an object than a person if the world was aware of his ability.

It had taken the boy a few years to understand what Grandfather had meant by that, but after witnessing how they treated Grandfather (who pretended to be the Healer instead, hiding "Scorpius's" talent through him), it was good that his grandfather helped him keep it all a secret; people expected a lot from Grandfather. Miracles that couldn't be made.

"I'm still learning about how it works," Scorpius answered his sister vaguely, not exactly lying.

"Maybe it's like a mood ring or something."

"Could be. I have to go now, Talli," he said as Simon entered the dormitory. "Love you, Tallistar."

"Love you too, Chomper!" she giggled, always finding their father's nickname for him hilarious.

"Off," Scorpius silenced his sister's giggles with the command that canceled the connection between the mirrors. He felt his cheeks grow a little warm. Father was decent enough not to call him that outside of their home, knowing a nickname like that was embarrassing. Talli usually only said it in private too, but she didn't realize that he hadn't been alone, and if she had, she would have never said it.

Simon ignored him like usual though. He didn't react at all to the nickname that Scorpius had been called, though he did stare at the mirror with interest before he got into his bed and pulled down the curtains for privacy.

Scorpius looked down at his mirror, thinking that maybe Simon had someone he would like to talk to. Perhaps he was missing someone from home, and he didn't want to admit it.

"This mirror is a special item my father made," Scorpius explained. "It allows us to talk to each other, like a voice chat."

The curtain to Simon's bed was pushed back a little, just enough for his head to be seen. "Voice chat…?" he spoke quietly, momentarily confused. "You… know what a voice chat is…?"

"I do! My father's friend's wife is a Muggle, and she's into all sorts of electronics. So is my great aunt, she's a Squib."

Simon reclosed the curtain after that, he said nothing in reply.

"I can show you how it works— if you want…?"

"What's a Squib?" Simon asked after a few minutes of being silent. "Is it someone who is part squid?"

"Squib just means that a person has no magic."

"So another word for Muggle?"

"Sort of. Except that Squibs are born into magical families and can't do magic. Similar to a Muggleborn who is born into a non-magical family and has magic. My mother is a Muggleborn—"

"Aye, I heard. And your Dad's some ex-criminal," Simon said in a bored tone. The other students often gossiped about Scorpius's parents. Love bonds were rare, especially in the way that theirs had been formed. Not to mention Scorpius's parents had an ugly history.

"He's not bad anymore."

"I heard that too…"

"What about your father? What is he like?"

"What are you trying to do?!" Simon demanded. He remained hidden behind his curtains. "Are you writing a book about me?! Have you classified me as some specimen in your studies?!"

"No, I—"

"Just don't talk to me! Leave me alone! I'm not here to make bloody friends! And I'm certainly not here to be used as some science experiment!"

"Simon, I wasn't trying to upset you. Honest!" But Scorpius wasn't able to get the boy to talk anymore after that.

It was at that moment that Scorpius saw his amulet flashing. Simon was the next person he was supposed to help.

Scorpius then wondered what Simon could be sick with and what he needed to be cured from.

*/*

"I really like that my brothers are gone at Hogwarts," Lily Potter said to Talli during a sleepover. Talli had been sent over to the Potters as a way to distract her from the absence of her brother.

So naturally, she had to tell Lily how much she missed him.

"Well, it's different for you," Talli argued. "James does nothing but torment you, and Albus bosses you around. Scorpius isn't like that at all. He doesn't tease me, nor does he tell me what to do. He never tattles on me—"

Here, Lily shifted her legs, guilty of tattling on her brothers (namely James) plenty of times.

"We just… respect each other. He's my best friend, and I can talk to him about _anything_."

Lily poked out her lip. "I thought _I_ was your best friend…?"

"You're my best _girl_ friend."

Lily tilted her head from one side to the other. "Fair enough, I guess." She picked up a bottle of nail varnish from the stand next to her bed. "Have you spoken with Vanity recently?"

"No," Talli answered, curious why Lily would bring her up. Vanity was her godsister (Talli's dad was Vanity's godfather, and Vanity's dad was Talli's godfather). The two girls also shared a birthday. "I haven't seen her since the summer."

Lily snickered, carefully applying a bit of the green varnish to the nail of a thumb. "She confessed to me that she has a _crush_ on your brother!"

" _What_?!" Talli giggled at the news, but then she quickly scrunched up her face in disgust. "Eww! That's nauseating!"

"Well, not really…" Lily said as her eyes went out of focus. "He is pretty cute, and _really_ nice—"

Talli threw a pillow at Lily to stop her from saying anything more. "I don't talk like that about _your_ brothers!" she shrieked.

"Well… who would?" Lily cackled at her joke. "So which boy _would_ you talk like that about?" she asked in all seriousness.

"I don't know…" Talli shrugged. "I never thought about a boy like that."

"Not even the ones at your school?"

Talli shook her head. "All they do is spit at you with wads of paper and tease you. You know, like James."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Boys are _so_ immature."

"Yes, they are!"

"Except for Scorpius," Lily said with a dreamy sigh.

"Don't start that again!" Talli warned. "I'll use something more solid to smack you with!"

"Kidding!" Lily held up her hands in defense. "I was only kidding!"

"Good." Talli relaxed some.

"It's _Vanity_ who you should worry about, she's already thinking about _marrying_ him."

Talli gasped. " _Marry_?!"

"Aye, _marry_ , and have his babies and _everything_."

"Oh, Merlin!" Talli smacked her forehead. "I'll have to have a talk with her!"

"What are you going to say, 'Keep your hands off my brother!'?" Lily rolled her eyes. "I doubt Scorpius is even interested."

Talli nodded. "If he was, he'd tell me so. He tells me everything."

*/*

For another three weeks, Scorpius struggled with getting Simon to talk again. The boy just refused to. If it wasn't for the amulet, Scorpius would have given up, but it was his duty to help Simon now.

He just needed a break from the task. The professors were piling him up with a bunch of work, and he was having difficulties keeping up with it. He wanted to help Simon, but he also needed to study. He'd never hear the end of it if he didn't score high. Both of his parents had been top students when they were in school (practically competing with each other for _the_ top position), so they would not expect any less from him.

He couldn't let them down.

"Mr. Granger-Malfoy!"

Scorpius snapped his head up, rapidly blinking. He's eyes were blurry with tiredness. He instantly remembered that he had been in Potions class.

"Yes, Professor Lockberry," he asked somewhat sheepishly.

"I asked you a question, would you mind answering it, please."

"I missed the question…" Scorpius mumbled in embarrassment.

"If you hadn't been _drooling_ on your desk, you wouldn't have! I suggest an earlier bedtime tonight."

"Yes, ma'am," Scorpius acknowledged above the quiet snickers echoing around the room.

"After detention though. 7:35. Right here in this very room."

"Yes, Professor Lockberry. I'll be here."

"You best be. Else I'll be forced to take 50 points from your house!" she warned him stiffly before turning back to the lesson.

Scorpius avoided the dirty looks from his housemates. Professor Lockberry wasn't one to mess with points. She neither awarded or deducted them, so being the first to get points deducted from her would definitely be a bad thing.

Saturday came again. Scorpius went to use the mirror once more, but after three searches, and taking everything out of his trunk, he was saddened to learn that the mirror was missing.

He sat on his bed, dumbfounded and slightly devastated that he couldn't talk with his family.

After thoroughly thinking about it, he took a guess on who may have taken his mirror. Scorpius wasn't one to point fingers though, so he didn't want to go around accusing anyone of stealing anything until he knew for sure.

He asked Edgar, but Edgar would never steal, so of course his friend said he didn't know where it was.

Dallas and Warren also denied having it, with Dallas saying that the object was useless to him since it didn't channel his own family.

Warren still only missed his dog. "It would seem silly to mirror-talk with a dog, wouldn't you think?"

And that left Simon.

How was Scorpius going to bring the subject up to him? Simon was awfully sensitive, and Scorpius didn't want to upset him, but he really needed his mirror back.

Scorpius got out some stationary supplies and began writing a false excuse on why he couldn't talk to his family at this time. He didn't want his father to know that he had lost the mirror, so he lied and said he had to study.

Talli was going to be the most upset with this news, even more when the mirror wasn't going to 'ring' that night, and it would take two days for Weetoo (his bird) to deliver the letter.

But there was nothing he could do about it. He just hoped he could get his mirror back soon.

* * *

**AN:**

**Info Dump-**

**Edgar is Ron and Susan Bones's son.**


	2. The Sun Shall Need His Moon

Talli stared up at the ceiling. It had been painted pink after she had turned seven and requested of it. Pink with a blue scheme seemed unfitting now. She'd have to see about getting it redone. Grey maybe.

Yeah, grey could work… it would certainly match how she had been feeling lately.

"Tallistar…?"

Talli rolled onto her side, facing away from the door. She didn't feel like talking to Daddy. She knew what he was going to want to discuss, and Talli wasn't interested in what he had to say.

She wasn't going to change her mind either!

"Your teacher gave me a note; you haven't been to the last two dance club meetings; why not?"

"I don't feel like dancing," Talli mumbled.

"Aren't you the lead in the upcoming show?"

She didn't answer him, ignoring the question.

"You cannot just leave your clubmates hanging like that," Daddy said, sitting on her bed. "You have a responsibility."

"Not anymore. I'm dropping out."

"I don't think that's a good idea. You love dancing, princess."

"No, I don't. I don't like anything anymore. It's all just going to be taken away anyway, so there's no point!"

"Tallistar…" he drawled, pitying her. "That's not true..."

"But it is," she whispered sadly. "I'm not going back! You can try making me, but I'll just sit there and do nothing and look silly doing it!"

Daddy sighed. "I really wish you would reconsider. The show won't be the same without your beauty and grace."

"Well, wishes don't come true, Daddy!" Talli said, burying her face into her pillow, ready to cry.

How many times had she wished that she could be magical just like her family?

Everyday and everynight since she had found out that she was a Squib.

*/*

"She'll perk up when she gets to talk to Scorpius again," Hermione assured Draco. "Talli's just in a mood right now. It's only been a month, she will grow out of it."

"I don't know." Draco was full of doubt. "Without Scorpius, she doesn't seem to want to do anything. Not even watch her favourite telly program. She and Lily even got into a _fight_ —"

"They did?" That snagged Hermione's attention. Those girls never fought.

She chewed her lip in worry. "Do you think Talli should talk to someone?"

"What, like an Analyzer?"

Hermione nodded. "What do you think of it?"

He shrugged, undecided. "Isn't it too soon?"

"Perhaps…?" She wasn't sure what to do either.

"Well, let's give it until Christmas. That should be enough time to make the decision, yes?" Draco suggested, not wanting to rush into something that they weren't sure about.

"And in the meantime?"

"We'll try to distract her as much as possible. Halloween is coming up, maybe there's a haunted house we can go to."

"I didn't know Talli was into haunted houses…"

"It's worth a shot. I don't know what else to do. She's shutting us out."

Hermione nodded. "I suppose I can see about taking some time off. Things are slowing down a little at the Ministry, and Narcissa could always fill in for me if someone needs something with Freedom Fighters."

"I think that would be best," Draco concurred.

*/*

Talli had been so upset when the mirror didn't ring Saturday night that she had almost sent him a Howler— their mother stopped her from doing it, much to Scorpius's relief. Getting a Howler would be embarrassing, but even more so if it came from his little sister.

Father and Mother understood Scorpius's letter he had written them, but Talli was just a child; a lonely, little girl who missed her brother. Scorpius didn't want to cause anyone pain, especially Talli.

Addressing Simon about the mirror had done him no good. Simon had denied having it completely.

"Why would you think that _I_ would want your mirror. How vain do you think I am?"

"It's not that type of mirror, and you know it. Have you seen it or not?"

"Are you're accusing me of swiping it?!" Simon snapped, jumping up from his bed and balling up a fist, threatening Scorpius with it. "I'm really getting tired of you, sunshine. You can't blame me when your perfect, little world unfolds grief around you. You've been sheltered for far too long."

Scorpius swallowed down a forming lump in his throat, able to feel Simon's chest rising and falling because of how close he was. Simon was a few inches taller than Scorpius, and his arms were thicker too. Scorpius had never been punched before, and he surely didn't want this to be his first hit to his face.

"No, I wasn't accusing you of taking it. I simply asked if you have seen it. I asked the others about it also. I wasn't singling you out whatsoever."

Simon backed away, lowering his fist, though his hand was still clenched into a tight ball. "No," he said, looking past Scorpius. "I do not know where your precious mirror is at. Now leave me alone!"

Scorpius knew he was lying, if only he could prove it. He helplessly watched Simon grab his bag of school books and walk out of the dormitory.

Scorpius sat down. His chest felt heavy. He wanted to cry.

"Scorpius…?"

Scorpius quickly wiped his nose, sniffing quietly. "Yes?" he asked, hiding his face. He didn't want Dallas to see that he had been very close to weeping.

"I was wondering if you could suggest a good book that thoroughly covers the Devil's Snare. You seem to know your way around the library."

"Oh, that's easy. 'Five Plants That Will Literally Take Your Breath Away' by Glenda Riverbee covers everything you'll ever need to know about it and the Nilla Tree."

"Great, thanks mate, you're the best— everything alright?" he asked a moment later, noticing that Scorpius hadn't look up at all.

"Yes," Scorpius answered quietly. "Everything is fine."

_Except that I just want to scream…!_

_And blubber like a little child!_

The next night after Scorpius had confronted Simon, he was shaken awake.

"Oi!" Edgar whispered to not wake the others. "Scorpius…!"

"What?" he moaned tiredly, rubbing his eyes to keep himself from drifting back to sleep.

"I just saw Simon down in the common room. I think he may have your mirror."

Scorpius flew out of bed, his blood instantly pumping with anger.

"Wait!" Edgar hurried after him as he ran out of the dormitory in his pajamas and all. "Scorpius, I'm not for certain it's yours…!"

Scorpius stopped at the end of the hall, breathing as slowly and as quietly as he could, peeping into the dimly lit common room. He had never known it could be so quiet, but it was obviously possible when most of his housemates were sawing logs.

Simon sat at a table, fiddling with something, whispering and grunting to himself. Scorpius inched into the room to get a closer look. He wanted to catch Simon in the act. He needed to be sure that he had his mirror without first accusing him of it.

But Scorpius knew he had it. He could feel it. He would bet his life in it.

"Come on…!" Simon whispered frustratingly. "Work, you stupid thing…!"

Scorpius had to get within touching distance before he saw the mirror clearly enough to recognize it as his own. By now, his anger had simmered down, but he was still upset to have something stolen from him, and then be lied to about it.

"So you _do_ have it…!" Scorpius finally accused him, rightfully so.

Simon jumped at the sudden noise, and when he did, the mirror slipped out of his hands. Scorpius was never going to forget the horrible 'tink' sound that the mirror had made when it had hit the ground. He was certain if Simon had slugged him right in the gut that he would have felt exactly the same.

Hurt. Shocked. Devastated. Angry. Defeated. Betrayed.

He felt it all; every last one of them, all at the same time.

Without a word, Scorpius bent down, assessing the damage, gathering up the pieces carefully into his hands.

"I don't understand…!" he said, struggling to keep from shouting out— or maybe it was to keep from crying; he actually didn't know which one he would have done if he had allowed himself to breakdown. "I wouldn't do this to you…! I would never, _ever_ do this—"

"It's just a ruddy mirror," Simon grumbled. "No need to cry over it."

"That mirror means a lot to Scorpius!" Edgar growled, getting into his face. "How dare you take it from him, lie about it to his face, and then have the nerve to brush it off like it's nothing! I ought to—"

Scorpius hastily climbed up to his feet, seeing Edgar pull his sleeve back up to his elbow. "Don't hit him," Scorpius said, gripping Edgar's upper arm. "It'll do no good."

Edgar shrugged out of Scorpius's hold. "He could use a good pounding though!"

Simon took off running, heading toward the door that would lead him out of the common room and into the forbidden part of the castle due to curfew rules.

"If he gets caught, he'll be in trouble!"

Edgar tilted his head, considering the thought. "Oh well. He deserves it. Maybe Filch will catch him."

"That's not nice, and you know it."

"Yeah…" Edgar admitted. "You're right…"

"I don't know what I'm going to do…" Scorpius said sadly, piecing the glass of the mirror into the plastic mold of it. There were four pieces to it now. "I don't think it's going to work anymore, and if it did, I'm sure my father will know it's broken…"

"You could always tell your parents what happened."

Scorpius shook his head. "My parents don't need to know about this. It's a petty issue to their own problems, and it'll just cause them to worry… or worse…"

"Worse?"

"Father would surely attempt to pull some strings; he's very protective, and Merlin only knows what would happen if my grandfather found out."

"What's the most that could happen?"

"Simon could get expelled."

"Well, after he hurt you, I'm all for it!" Edgar lifted his chin up.

"He needs to be here. He needs to be here with _us_."

"Us?" Edgar gave him an odd look. "But look what he's done to your mirror…!"

Scorpius stared down at the mirror, and his chest clenched up at the sight of its damage. "Yes, but he didn't mean to," he said firmly, forcing himself to focus on that alone— even though he desperately wanted to voice that he felt Edgar was right. "It was an accident."

"Well, he still lied to you about taking it!"

Scorpius nodded in agreement. "People don't always do the right thing, but there's usually a good explanation to why they do what they do."

Edgar hopelessly tossed his head back, knowing he just lost the argument. "You're going to forgive him, aren't you? Just like that?"

"Just like that," Scorpius announced with a small smile.

Edgar groaned. "You should have let me slug him though!"

"There are other ways to fight besides using physical methods."

"Yes, but my way gives you instant gratification!"

"Well, your way isn't always the _right_ way. In fact, it often makes matters worse."

The following morning, Edgar had an epiphany, something he didn't often get, but when he did get them, they were grand..

"Holy fish tails!" he gasped out, dropping his spoon into his unfinished cereal. "I should have thought of this sooner!" He got up from the bench and snatched Scorpius by the back of his robes. "Come on!"

Scorpius hadn't been all too hungry anyway, so he followed his friend to the Ravenclaw table, wondering what could put Edgar in such a state.

He stopped when he got to Molly and tapped her shoulder. "Hey, Mol—"

"I'm eating, go away," she said and snickered at a girl who was laughing her head off over something that the boys had missed.

"Please! This is important! It's for Scorpius!"

Molly spun around to face the boys. "Well, why didn't you say so!" She smiled at Scorpius, and he smiled back.

"Getting along okay?" she asked, directing the question at Scorpius, ignoring her little cousin.

"Yes," he quickly answered, noticing that a few others had stopped their socializing to watch their exchange. He gave them a tiny wave.

"Want to make a quick few Galleons?" Edgar went straight to the point.

"I guess so." Molly shrugged indifferently. "What do you need?"

"Scorpius has an item that needs mending—"

"And you thought of me!" She grinned, pleased with this. "Of course…! Who else can fix things as good as I can?"

"Exactly. So will you look at it?"

Molly thought on it with a hum. "Alright, I'll do it, but you owe me a favour after this, kay?" She extended her hand out to her cousin.

"Sure, no problem." They did a simple shake before Molly said she'd meet them during lunch to look over Scorpius's mirror.

"Do you really think she can fix it?" Scorpius asked.

"I've seen her fix _lots_ of things, if anyone can, _she_ can."

And Edgar's faith in his cousin did not go wrong. Molly only had to take one look at the mirror, and she knew what to do. "Easy breezy!" she said cheerfully, holding it out to Scorpius after a wave of her wand. He looked at it in awe. It was like it was brand new! Shiny and spotless without so much as a crack!

"Thanks so much, Molly! You have no idea what this means to me! If you need _anything_ , you let me know!" He gave her a tight hug, earning a few 'awws' from the nearby Ravenclaw girls.

"Anytime, Scorpius. Be more careful next time with it, kay?"

He nodded, still amazed that she had been able to fix it.

"So you got it repaired," Simon noted when they returned to the their house table with it.

"No thanks to you," Edgar muttered.

"Why did you want it, Simon?" Scorpius asked, hoping to get down to the bottom of his reasonings.

"I didn't."

"So that's why you nicked it, huh?" Warren asked, glaring at him.

"You could have just asked me," Scorpius told Simon. "I would have let you look at it if you wanted. Is there someone you would like to talk to back home? Maybe my father can make you a pair too."

"Who do you think you are, the Messiah?!"

Scorpius dropped his eyes down to his plate of untouched food. "No… I would never think that…"

"Then stop trying to act like it! Butt out of my ruddy life already, would you! You're like an annoying fly, and no matter how much you swat at it, it keeps coming back!"

"Maybe he's just trying to figure out why you're such a bloody warthog!" Edgar shot out.

"And _maybe_ it's none of his _business_!" Simon hissed.

"You make it his business when you steal his belongings," Dallas pointed out.

"And break them!" Edgar added.

"Is there something wrong here?" Adrian Derrick, one of their prefects, came up.

"No," the boys answered in unison.

"I'd suggest that if you're going to have a fight, that you do not do it in front of the _entire_ school!"

The group took a look around, feeling uneasy, noticing that quite a few people were looking at them.

"That is _not_ how we act," Adrian continued disapprovingly. " _Not_ at all. We are much more _civilized_ than that, aren't we, _men_?"

They nodded.

"I should hope so. Sirota, I want to speak with you after the meal." Adrian returned to his seat, but not before giving them all an extremely firm look. One that could easily compete with the Headmistress's.

*/*

"I saw your fight."

"Everyone saw the fight," Scorpius grumbled.

"Don't think that you're the only group to fight with his roommates."

" _You_ fought with yours too?" Scorpius asked Albus, shocked by the news.

"And we also got chewed out for it," Albus informed with a smile. "No one can get along all the time. Not even Hufflepuffs."

"But we're not Hufflepuffs," Scorpius said.

"No, we're not," Albus agreed. "And if the other houses knew we fought amongst ourselves just as much as they did, we'd have nothing on them."

"So it's a manipulation trick?"

"If you want to call it that, yes."

"Is that why our table is quiet a lot of times?"

"If you got nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all."

"I never knew we fought so much… It's kind of… saddening."

Albus looped an arm around Scorpius's shoulders. "But we're always there when you need us the most."

Scorpius smiled. Albus had always been like a big brother to him, standing up for Scorpius even though he really never needed it. He was proud to have been sorted into the same house as him.

"Adrian is talking to Sirota now," Albus informed.

"Is he in trouble?"

"Nah, Sirota just needs some tips." Albus got up then, getting ready to join a group of his friends. "Make sure Edgar brushes his teeth, alright?" Albus said. "He has always hated doing that; can't have him going around with a mouth full of rotting teeth! Everyone might think we're training to be Death Eaters!" He laughed at his joke and gave Scorpius a wave goodbye.

*/*

"I'm sorry for taking your mirror and breaking it."

Scorpius couldn't believe what he had just heard. Simon had approached him(something he never did) and spoke to him (something he never initiated first) and actually apologized (something Scorpius never thought he'd ever be capable of)!

"It's alright, Simon." Scorpius watched the boy sit next to him, and he closed the library book he was reading, heavily interested in what else Simon had to say.

"How is it possible for you to be so… _nice_ all the time? It must drive you insane?"

"It's extremely _exhausting_ ," Scorpius admitted with a sigh.

"Why do you do it then?"

"Would you rather I go down the corridors, barking orders and bullying people around? Is it better to shut everyone out of my life and growl insults at them like some irritated troll?"

"I see your point."

"I was hoping you would."

"How do you do it? How can you just… _forgive_ someone who has hurt you?"

Scorpius studied Simon closely, realizing that he was asking him some much needed advice.

"You don't learn it overnight, and it isn't easy. Once, my sister broke my favourite soup bowl. It was blue, and I ate _everything_ out of it, but when she was six, she accidently knocked it off the table while she was twirling around in her new dress. I was so mad at her." Scorpius took a deep breath, remembering that so well. "But she didn't mean to do it, she was just excited to show me what Grandmother had bought her. It took me days before I even talked to her though, I was _that_ upset."

Simon nodded. He thought on it before he made to stand up and leave.

"Wait." Scorpius leaned over, placing his hand over Simon's. The amulet at his chest grew warm, almost hot. He looked the boy dead in the eye.

And suddenly he knew.

He knew why Simon was the way he was with people.

Scorpius released him abruptly, looking down at the cover of the book in front of him. "Can I tell you something?" he hastily asked as Simon began to silently walk away. He stood up, ready to stop him if he didn't respond.

Simon turned around slowly. He gave Scorpius a nod. "What…?"

Scorpius looked around. There were too many people in the library to say what he wanted. "In private?"

"What? You have a _secret_?" Simon grinned some, as if he was catching on to something. "Are you gay or something? That would explain a lot of what you do."

"No, it's not that..!" Scorpius rolled his eyes. "I've never told anyone this, not even my sister."

"But you're not gay?" Simon was confused. "Alright," he said slowly when Scorpius shook his head. "Let's find a more secluded place then…"

"You can't tell _anyone_ ," Scorpius stressed when they were alone.

"Just spit it out already, sunshine!"

"No, I want you to know how _important_ this is! It's my life, my everything, I'm _trusting_ you with it."

Simon suddenly went serious. "Why would you trust me with something so important? After the way I have treated you?"

Scorpius unearthed his amulet from where he had it tucked under his shirt. "It's important to know when you're needed, and I need you."

Simon raised an eyebrow. "Did you get knocked over the head or something?" He looked down at the amulet, seeing it light up. "That's a fine piece of treasure you got there," he said, admiring it.

"It has healing powers," Scorpius whispered. "And it's chosen me to extract them."

"Sure it did. You're nuttier than I thought!" Simon made to exit the unused classroom they had slipped into, but Scorpius stopped him.

"I need you to help me, it picked you. Out of everyone, it wants you!" The amulet was flashing now. Quick pulses of bright green emerald light.

Simon narrowed his eyes. "You're playing me! It's a trick!"

"Look at it! It's beating for _you_ , Simon. It wants you to help. People need you. Sick, tortured and _lost_ people need your help!"

Simon's eyes grew wide as he stared at the amulet. His hands began to shake. "No one could possibly ever need me!" he insisted.

"I do." Scorpius took the amulet off and set it in Simon's hand. Simon gasped for air as if he had just emerged from a pool of water. "Your dad needs you, Simon. He needs _us_."

"He's gone! My dad is gone!" Simon shrieked. "He abandoned me and made broken promises!" He pulled away from Scorpius, tears dripping out of his eyes. "He didn't want me anymore!"

"No! He does! He will! You'll see! We'll find him, and you won't have to stay at that home anymore!"

"Don't," Simon pleaded. "Don't do that!"

"Do what?"

"This isn't some bloody story with a happy ending, Scorpius!" he shouted. "This is _real_! My dad's never coming back, and when I return to the Morgans, I'll be nothing but an evil sorcerer to them!"

"But you won't have to go back! If you trust me, if you trust the _amulet_ , you'll never have to go back there! We'll find your dad, trust me! You just need a little faith!"

Simon shook his head. "I don't trust _no one_! And I _don't_ hope for anything!"

"It's time to change then," Scorpius told him. "Because you're no longer in the Muggle world. You're a wizard, and unexplainable things happen all the time. Things _we_ still can't even begin to understand. I know you're used to the Muggle life, but you're not a Muggle, Simon, and together, we're going to make the world better. I can't do this without you. Please, _please_ help me?"

Simon wiped his nose with the sleeve of his shirt like a young child would. "Do you really believe all that?"

Scorpius nodded and took the amulet back. "Since before I could remember, I've been using this amulet to guide me. It's almost like my Jiminy Cricket."

Simon snorted. "Scorpius, that isn't the amulet's doing! You're like Jiminy Cricket himself. You're the school's moral compass!"

Scorpius smiled. "I will change the world."

"And you really want _me_ there to help you do it?" Simon asked doubtfully. "I'm _nothing_ like you…"

"That could be why you're needed. Maybe the amulet knows I need a… _tough guy_ as a partner."

"Tough guy, huh?"

"Yes," Scorpius said firmly, putting the amulet back on. "I need a tough guy. I need someone who is not all sunshine and rainbows. Someone who has had no one but himself to rely on. Someone who hasn't had a perfect life like myself."

"Someone who is damaged," Simon summarized quietly.

"Someone who is _healing_ ," Scorpius corrected him. He held out his hand for Simon to take. "Are you with me, tough guy?"

Simon shifted his eyes from Scorpius's hand to the amulet a few times before finally making his decision.

"Sure thing, sunshine," he said, a smile pulling to the corner of his lips as he took Scorpius's hand and gave it a squeeze.

The amulet's light then went out, and it was cold again.

"Tell me more about this intriguing object," Simon requested, eyeing it over.

*/*

"This is Simon," Scorpius announced as they stepped into their dormitory. "And he's our fellow house mate; our friend."

The other three boys gave Scorpius strange looks. "Something wrong, Scorpius?" Warren asked. "You feeling alright?"

"Yeah, what happened?" Edgar watched as Scorpius placed an arm around Simon.

"He's one of us," Scorpius told them. "He has been so since the day we were sorted, and he'll always be one of us. And do you know why that is?"

"Uh…" Dallas didn't know what to say, stunned that Simon was allowing Scorpius to touch him. "Did you guys get into someone's secret stash of potions?"

"No," Scorpius laughed. "What's that even mean?"

"It means—"

"Don't," Edgar cut off Warren. "He's much too innocent to know about any of that yet."

"With all the books he reads, he should know about potions that affect one's mind and their ability to make judgment calls."

"You're getting off the subject here," Scorpius sang out, growing impatient as Simon slipped out of his hold and unloaded his bag onto his bed. "Simon is one of us, because we are Slytherins, and Slytherins stick together."

"Unless if you're some villain who plans to dominate the world, attempting to kill babies in the process," Edgar said, speaking about Lord Voldemort. "I don't swing that way, sorry mate."

"Nah, me neither," Warren chimed.

"So it's settled then?" Scorpius asked. "To brotherhood?" He raised his wand up in a pledging gesture.

"Oh, fish tails!" Edgar groaned. "Must we?"

Scorpius grinned. "Oh, you must! Come on; wands up, men!"

One by one, each of the first year Slytherin boys pointed their wands up at the ceiling.

"To brotherhood!"

* * *

 

**AN: A reviewer over at fanfiction(dot)net pointed out that I had the wrong age difference between Scorpius and Talli. They were right, so in the first chapter, I changed it from seven to ten (Scorpius was born in July, where Talli was born the following May).**

 

**So "Let There Be No More Curse" was nominated in the Facebook group "Dramione Fanfiction Forum (18+)" and won an award! Here's what I got from it:**

**That's pretty cool, huh?! :) I am sooo happy right now! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


	3. Flying Lessons Can Be Murder

"I wrote my grandfather and explained to him about your dad. He's helped me for years with stuff like this."

"How did you know about my dad anyway?" Simon wondered. "And the Morgans? How did you know about all that?"

Scorpius shrugged. "I saw it. I saw your memories."

Simon looked mortified. " _All_ of them?"

"Only the ones that matter," Scorpius answered seriously.

"So… So you saw what the M-Morgans did then?" Simon faltered. His lips quivered.

Scorpius's eyes fell down to the book in front of him. "I seen enough to know that you're not going back there. Ever. I don't care what I must do to make it happen."

"You're just a kid, Scorpius," Simon said after several moments of an uncomfortable silence. "You can't stop things from happening."

"The amulet is going to help me, and it's going to help you."

Even though Simon had been told of all the things the amulet had done, he was still in doubt that he could be saved.

"I sure hope you're right," he said quietly, wishing it were true.

"That's a start, Simon," Scorpius told him, setting a hand on his shoulder. "Hope; together, you, the amulet and I are going to get you all the help you need."

Because if it didn't, who knew what would happen to Simon after the year was up, and Scorpius was not going to let him go back there. No matter what. Even if he had to hide Simon away for two months during the summer.

*/*

"Flying lessons are today," Simon announced a few days later.

"I know," Scorpius acknowledged simply.

"You've missed two lessons of it so far," Dallas noted as the group of friends settled in their seats for their Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

"Yeah," Warren chimed in, taking out his book. "You're missing out on all the fun, Scorpius! Flying is great!"

"I'm beginning to think you're afraid of doing it," Dallas whispered so the other students outside their group wouldn't hear.

"Scared?" Warren gasped in disbelief. His jaw dropped. "Are you really? I thought you only had an upset stomach?"

They watched Scorpius square off his shoulders and stare ahead of the class where Professor Bulstrode was writing on the blackboard. They had been learning about vampires recently, and today there was going to be an exam on them.

"My stomach was ill," Scorpius confirmed. He just didn't explain that it was ill with fear.

He didn't have to either.

"You can't just _not_ go, Scorpius," Edgar insisted. Since he had known Scorpius for all his life, he was well aware of Scorpius's fear of flying. "Hooch is going to figure it out eventually."

" _And_ so are the other first years!" Warren added, quickly looking around the room. "Just imagine what they'll think when they find out— it'll be all over the school! Scorpius the Ninny!"

Scorpius didn't care what the other students thought of him, it wasn't like he was the only one with fears. There was a rumour floating around that a girl in Ravenclaw was scared of a sock!

"What are you scared of anyway?" Simon asked. "Falling? Heights?"

"I just don't like it. Now please, the lesson is about to start, and we need to pay attention to the professor."

Edgar scoffed. "It isn't going to be about anything you don't already know— besides, she's giving us an exam today, so they'll be no actual lesson!"

"Good afternoon, students," Professor Bulstrode stood in front of her large desk, stopping Dallas from adding to Edgar's statement. "You will not need your books today. Just your pots of ink and quills.

A pile of papers rose up from the desk behind her and began dividing itself into several smaller piles. Each one was delicately placed in front of a student.

"I trust you have spent the last couple days refreshening your knowledge on vampires. To ensure that you have, you will complete the exam in front of you. Each one is a little different, so cheating will be more harder to do, but I will dock five points for every whisper that I hear and any peeking I see— Questions?"

Sally Farley, who had been sorted into the same house as Scorpius, raised her hand. "If we fail, may we retake the test at a later time?"

"The test is simple enough, but should you indeed fail, contact one of your prefects; they will suggest a tutor if they can not help you themselves. There are also a few of your fellow first years who could help you too, but you already know this.

"This will not exactly count toward your actual grade," Professor Bulstrode continued, "but your scores will alert me on which of you may need additional help. If you find you are struggling with grasping anything that I teach, you are welcome to ask me for help."

"Thank you, Professor." Sally relaxed a little, happy with the answer. She tucked her golden brown hair behind her ears and closed her eyes in preparation for the test.

Warren rolled his eyes, making Edgar hold back a laugh. Sally always had to ask a question, and some of the others thought she did it for strict attention. Scorpius didn't think anything was wrong with double checking what the professors expected though.

"Don't tease her like that," he whispered.

"Mr. Granger-Malfoy, did you forget what I just said already?" Professor Bulstrode demanded. Her thick unibrow crinkled in disapproval. "You just lost your house five points!"

"Sorry, ma'am." Scorpius said, looking down at his papers, thumbing the corner of the top sheet. Behind him, Sally huffed out, irritated that he had lost their house points. She took the house points much too seriously.

"You have twenty minutes, class. Begin now."

Scorpius hurried through the test, knowing the answers without even having to pause to think on them. He finished before everyone else and took his work to the professor.

"Um, Professor Bulstrode…" He fiddled nervously with his tiny bunch of papers, having not yet set it on the desk.

"Yes?"

"I think I need to see Madam Abbot; my stomach is sick."

The Professor's eyes rose up from where she had been writing, giving Scorpius a look over. "You seem fine to me, Mr. Granger-Malfoy," she said, scribbling something down on the parchment.

"I feel like I'm going to hurl my lunch…" he explained, rubbing his gurgling belly. "I don't think it's agreeing with the dressing I had on my salad."

Professor Bulstrode sat back in her chair, pursing her lips. She drew out a drawer to her desk and took out a card, signing her name on it. "Your pass, Mr. Granger-Malfoy." She held it out for him to take, but when Scorpius went to grab it, she didn't release her grip on it. "This is the _last_ one I'm writing you, young man. Make sure Madam Abbott cures you of your _illness_."

Scorpius gave her a weak smile, embarrassed that she seemed to know that he didn't just have a sick stomach. "Yes, Professor," he acknowledged.

"This is the third time you've been here over the same issue!" Madam Abbot waved a wand over him worried. "You haven't caught anything." She then set her hands on her hips, giving him a look with narrowed eyes. "You're not eating enough though!"

"I haven't been all too hungry," Scorpius informed her, scratching at an itch on his thigh.

"Mmhm." She went over to a shelf and delicately removed two potions. Scorpius knew what they were. He took them from her when she offered them.

"Take one sip of the green one right before every meal, and that will take care of your lack for hunger."

"Thank you, Madam," he said, pocketing it into his robes.

"The other one will help your stomach ache, you may take that now."

Scorpius downed the potion quickly, knowing it had a horrid flavour. When he was finished, he handled her the empty vial so it could be washed and reused. The potion was already making his stomach feel better.

"Thanks. It's okay now."

He was released then, but Scorpius knew by the time he got down to where the Flying lesson was being held, it would be over and done with (which was partially why he made it known that he was having stomach aches. It was a valid excuse to avoid from having to get on a broom).

Scorpius went to the Charms classroom instead and waited outside the door for the current class to end. It would be his next class.

*/*

"Why do you dress like that?!" Talli demanded, glaring at a woman who had on green face makeup, an ugly, fake nose, and several warts across her face. She got the attire right, Talli gave her that; a set of robes that went from head to toe. "Witches don't look like that, and they _certainly_ don't _cackle_!"

"Talli, sweetie, it's only done for fun," Hermione explained.

"Muggles don't know how we really are," Draco whispered into the girl's ear.

"Well, it's insulting! And look at those ghosts!" She pointed at a group of adults who were dressed in sheets and dramatically moaning out. "Ghosts don't _moan_ like that!"

"You haven't met Moaning Myrtle," Draco muttered, earning an elbow in the gut from his wife.

The Muggle who was mocking what witches looked like sighed. "Little girl, please just keep going and _try_ to enjoy the amusement." she pleaded.

"Come on!" a boy around Talli's age snarled behind them. "You're holding up the line! Ya big sissy!"

"I'm no sissy!" Talli called back, folding her arms across her chest and walking further into the haunted house.

"I didn't think she'd like this," Hermione said to Draco. He jumped as an axe dropped right in front of his face and landed at his feet.

He clenched his chest with a hand. "Merlin! This place is as bad as Aunt Bellatrix's torture dream house!" His face paled when he heard a child scream out for help.

Hermione laughed, pulling him forward by the hand. "It's just pretend. If you remember that, you'll do just fine."

A werewolf came up growling behind them. Draco closed his eyes, and with a shaky voice, he repeated under his breath, "It's just pretend, it's just pretend!"

The sound of a chainsaw started revving up, and Draco gulped, remembering the Muggle film about a man who murdered people and sawed their limbs off.

"Talli!" he shouted frantically, "Tallistar!" He couldn't see anything now. The lights went out, adding to the effect of the entertainment.

"I'm lost!" she answered back, a bored tone present in her voice. They could only faintly hear her over all the noise happening around them.

A group of teenagers bellowed out in fear, and somewhere up ahead there were footsteps of them running away.

"Eww…" Hermione cringed a moment later. "Don't touch the—"

"Ugh!" Before Hermione could finish her sentence, Draco had made to use the wall on his right side to guide him through the next section of the house. It was sticky, gooey and greasy. "What the—"

"Petroleum jelly," Hermione supplied. "They put it on the walls, knowing we would use them to feel our way around."

"Revolting!" Draco shuddered, thankful it was just that.

The lights flickered back on as they stepped onto a short, rickety, makeshift bridge. It shook roughly, making them grasp onto the railing of it to keep from losing their balance. Draco was happy when they got off that thing.

"Look what I found!" Talli made both her parents jump from not expecting her to be so close by. She held up a tiny and long black snake. "Can I keep it?"

Hermione grew stiff. She wasn't a fan of snakes, and Talli knew it.

"It's not poisonous, Mum," she assured her mother, holding it up closer to Hermione's face. "Isn't it cute?"

"It probably belongs to someone who works here," Draco stated.

Hermione agreed enthusiastically. "Please put it back where you found it, dear."

"Aww, shucks!" They followed Talli into a room where there were a bunch of snakes like the one she had crawling around.

Draco was relieved when they made it out of the house. His head pounded with pain, not used to such high pitched noises, but between the snakes, spiders and assorted insects, his nerves were on the fritz, and he had the shakes.

"Well, that was better than I thought it would be," Talli announced. "Still wished I could have kept that snake though. He had a cute tongue!" She giggled and grabbed each of Draco and Hermione's hands, walking between them. "I'm hungry, may we get some dinner? Being fake scared can sure build up an appetite!"

The two parents shared a smile, happy that their little girl was enjoying herself for the moment.

*/*

Scorpius wasn't able to get out of the next Flying lesson, Professor Bulstrode and Madam Abbot planned ahead and made sure he had a stomach settling potion beforehand. It worked for his stomach, but his nerves were still going crazy.

"You can do this, mate," Edgar said as Scorpius recited everything he had heard, everything he had seen other kids do throughout his years, and everything he had read.

But books, advice, and observation were only going to help him so much. Especially with the cheesy brooms he would have to work with. He faintly remember his father stating how awful they had been when he was in school.

Words couldn't explain their poor quality enough. The handles were chipped (probably from past crashes, this thought didn't help Scorpius in the slightest), and the bristles were beyond frayed, clogged with dirt and debris.

Since Scorpius came from a wealthy family, he had only been introduced to the best of the best (it _was_ the Malfoy way). He didn't even think Muggles would own such atrocities!

Scorpius made a mental note to ask his parents if they could donate some new brooms to the school. It would surely make him feel better— if just a smidgen.

His friends encouraged him to pick out a broom first, and he shakily did, choosing one at random (they all looked the same to him). He stood by it, not at all willing to start any actual flight.

He took deep breaths, trying to calm his pulse, but every time he opened his eyes, his little heart started racing all over again.

"Nice of you to join us this time, Mr. Granger-Malfoy," Hooch said upon seeing his presence. "I assume your belly aches have finally subsided?"

Scorpius bit his lip, nodded. "I'm fine, thank you, Madam."

"Everyone else is a little ahead of you, but that's okay, you'll easily catch up."

She then instructed them to stand at the left of their broom and call the broom up. Scorpius was the only one who struggled with this. It flipped, it flopped, it shook, but it didn't rise up.

"You cannot show it any fear," Edgar whispered from his place next him.

Scorpius nodded. He knew that, but how could he not when he was scared to death of it?!

"We're waiting on you, Mr. Granger-Malfoy," Hooch announced, making him look up to see that the entire class was indeed watching him.

"Sorry," he mumbled, feeling bad that he was holding them up.

"You can do it, Scorpius!" Eloisa Water from Gryffindor said. Scorpius only knew her by name, but from the little bits that he seen her around, she was friendly enough.

The girl next to her agreed and cheered him on, and one by one, the rest of them started showing their support.

He hadn't expect to get so much from his peers, especially from different house altogether. Kids he didn't even know were rooting him on, and it made him feel a little better.

He also didn't want to let any of them down, so he bravely— suppressing down any sort of fear he had— called up the gangly broom at his feet.

There was a roar of applause as he caught the broom with his hand.

"You did it!" Edgar exclaimed.

Simon gave him a highfive, making Scorpius grin sheepishly.

"Well, done, Mr. Granger-Malfoy— now mount it."

Scorpius's moment of happiness flunked, and his smile faded at Hooch's instruction.

He still had to fly the ruddy thing.

Scorpius swallowed hard, feeling like he was going to throw up, but he swung a leg over the broom handle just the same, straddling it. The rest of the class followed his suit and gave Hooch their attention as she further walked Scorpius through the procedure.

It was now time to kick off. Scorpius had seen several people in his lifetime do this over and over, but this was _his_ first time ever doing it, and since he was incredibly nervous, he applied way too much pressure, kicking too hard.

He screamed, sounding like a little girl doing it. Laughter erupted beneath him with his childish reaction, but he knew no other way to react when it came to flying.

He was scared to death of it.

Scorpius stopped breathing all together, having no idea how to stop the broom from its rocket-like takeoff. He was flying straight up into the clouds! The voices below him were quickly growing faint.

He woke up later in the infirmary, learning that he had fainted and fallen off the broom. Hooch had caught his fall with a spell before he could actually hit the ground.

"I've seen a few children who have been just as apprehensive to flying as yourself," Hooch said after he had been informed of what happened. "They get over it though."

"You alright?" Simon had a chance to ask after Hooch went off to talk with the mediwitch. The other boys were there too, waiting for Scorpius's response.

"Yes," he answered, sitting up. "I feel a little dizzy, but I'm good besides that."

"Scared us a little," Dallas admitted.

"Yeah, you're only supposed to give the ground a light kick, not a _stomp_ ," Warren said seriously.

"You're not trying to scare a cat away, Scorpius," Edgar joked.

Scorpius smiled a little, slightly embarrassed. "I was _so_ nervous!"

"You'll get over it though," Simon told him. "Hooch has seen _hundreds_ of students, and everyone passes the Flying class."

"Maybe I'm an exception."

"You're not," a new voice said. James and Albus had arrived to see him.

"Oi, Scorp," James greeted, plopping down on the bed at Scorpius's feet. "Heard you nearly fell to your death! You alright?"

"I'm fine, thanks."

"Scorpius, I had a kid in my year that was scared of heights too, and she passed, you will too," Albus offered. "Just give it time, you'll adjust."

"I hope so."

He hated the idea of not passing the first year simply because he couldn't _fly_.

That Saturday night, he asked if he could mirror-talk to his father alone, wanting to know if he could offer any advice on flying.

"I fell off my broom in Flying class," Scorpius started quietly. His father was great at flying and had been persistent on getting Scorpius to fly before having to learn it completely at school, and so now he was feeling a little foolish for brushing his father off when Father was trying to help him. "Hooch caught me before I hit the ground."

Father nodded. "I was expecting something of the sort to happen, but you didn't want to listen to me."

"I should have," he admitted.

"Yes, you should have, but I understand completely where you were coming from; I was scared of flying when I was a small child too."

"You were?!" Scorpius couldn't believe it! He would have never thought so!

Father nodded. "My father forced me to ride almost everyday until I grew out of it. You get used to it."

"I don't think I'll ever like flying. I'm not even sure I can _pass_!"

"It takes some getting used to, but I have faith in you, son. Your mother passed Flying, and she wasn't so swell at it either, but you'll get the hang of it. You may not become some Quidditch champion, but I'll still be proud of you."

"You mean it? If I don't play Quidditch, you'll be okay with that?" Before Scorpius started school, Father often spoke of Scorpius being the next best Quidditch star of Slytherin. It really set Scorpius's mind at ease to hear his father say that he would be proud of him either way.

"Of course, Chomper, as long as you try your best, that's all that matters to me."

Scorpius smiled, wishing he could hug his father right at that moment. "That makes me feel a lot better."

"I'm sorry if it seemed like I put a lot of pressure on you. That was wrong of me to do, I didn't think much of it until now."

"I don't blame you, Father," Scorpius said gently. "It _is_ a Malfoy tradition to play Quidditch after all."

"I'm good with whatever you're comfortable with. I was forced into doing things I didn't want to when I was young, and I _never_ want you to feel that like that, alright? Don't allow me to pressure you into anything you don't want to do. I don't want to be that kind of father to you."

"Okay, so don't count on me playing Quidditch then."

"I won't."

"Thanks, I appreciate that."

"Everything else alright then?"

"I suppose…" Scorpius then thought about something he wanted to ask his father. "Father, do you think we could make a donation to the school?"

A smirk crawled to Father's lips. "Wouldn't be new brooms, would it?"

"Yes!" Scorpius groaned. " _Please_? These ones are awful! I could bet that they have been here since _Grandfather_ was a kid!"

"We could do that…" Father gave it a thought. "But first, I want to see how your school report looks. If you have an acceptable grade in Flying, I'll immediately have all the school's brooms replaced with up-to-date training ones."

Scorpius had frowned after he heard his father's condition. "And if I can't?"

"You can."

"But what if—"

"I know you well if enough to know that if you _really_ want the school to have new brooms, you'll make sure you score well."

"How high do I need to score?"

"I would find 85 to be acceptable, given how you feel about the entire idea of flying."

Scorpius's hope sank. He didn't think he could get it that high before the holiday started.

"Don't think like that, Chomper. You can do it, son. I know you can. Think of the goal, and that alone."

"I'll try," Scorpius promised, though he still doubted he could do it— he had missed two classes alone, getting 0s on them.

On the day of his next lesson, Scorpius went back up to the infirmary to see if Madam Abbot would give him a specific potion.

"Oh… the _Flying_ class… of _course_...!" Her eyes spaced out, as if she should have thought of administering the potion he requested sooner. "Why didn't I think of that?" she asked herself, frowning.

A few hours passed, and now that he had a Draught of Peace potion in his possession, Scorpius felt a little more confident with his upcoming class.

And he hadn't even consumed it yet!

He trudged out to the grassy field along with his fellow Slytherins, growing nervous with every step closer. He took the potion after claiming a broom and standing by it. Scorpius instantly felt at ease, and he smiled.

 _I can do this_ , he thought in determination.

"Is it helping?" Simon asked, speaking about the potion.

"Yes," Scorpius answered, bouncing on the balls of his feet, eager to get started. "I feel like I can play on a national league!"

"Yeah, better to not get your hopes up for that," Edgar advised him.

"I wouldn't bother playing professional anyway. I'm going to do something much more valuable with my life." Scorpius and Simon shared a knowing look before Madam Hooch called for their attention.

She kept her eye closely on Scorpius after what happened the week before, just in case he fell again.

The broom flew right up into his hand on his first "UP!" His friends quietly congratulated him, and everyone was surprised to see him swing the broom right underneath him to mount it.

Scorpius closely paid attention to everything Hooch was teaching them, and this time, when it came to kicking off, he _gently_ did it as she had stressed (mainly for his benefit), and Scorpius hovered with the rest of the class, four feet above ground.

 _This isn't so bad,_ he thought, looking around, smiling.

And Hooch even gave him twenty points for his complete turnaround!

Maybe Father was right. Perhaps his first Flying grade _could_ actually end up being 85. Maybe even _higher_ than that!


	4. 'Tis the Season

Scorpius sat with the rest of his housemates, watching the very close Quidditch match between Slytherin and Gryffindor. They excitedly waved their banners that supported their house, cheering on their team.

"Next year, I'm going to give James a run for his money!" Edgar grumbled after his cousin had made yet another goal.

"You think you can take him?" Warren asked doubtfully.

"Oh, he can," Albus stated grimly, keeping a close eye on the game.

"Why didn't you try out this year, Albus?" Scorpius wondered.

"Our team currently isn't bad," his friend said with a slight shrug. "I don't know… I guess I don't want to compete."

"Cause James whips you like cream."

Albus pursed his lips at Edgar's comment. "I could _whip_ him."

Edgar pulled his eyes from the game, scoffing. "He's better than you, Al, face it."

Edgar was right. James was _extremely_ good at the game, and Albus didn't have the same talent in the sport as his brother. That was partially because James teased him a lot, and Albus took it to heart, letting James distract him too easily while they played.

"Maybe I'll give _you_ a run for _your_ money."

"If you can't beat James, you _certainly_ can't beat me!"

"Watch yourself then," Albus warned Edgar. "I might just try out to prove you wrong."

"You don't want to embarrass yourself, do you? I suggest that you don't."

Albus grunted, more upset that the announcer had informed everyone that Slytherin had lost than Edgar's comment.

"Well, I don't care who plays," Simon grumbled, "so long as one of you all wins us a game!"

Simon had instantly fallen in love with the wizard sport, claiming that it was a 'gazillion' times better than the Muggle's football. The other boys had taught him how to play, and he learned that his best position was the Beater. Scorpius thought he may end up being pretty good with practice, but Simon said that he wasn't eager to get on the team.

" _There are only seven spots, and I highly doubt I'll ever be one of the best seven in our entire house."_

Scorpius told him that he could never be sure about that. "Some players stop playing during their 5th and 7th year because of their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s," he explained. "So, the opportunity may come. You never know."

That didn't change Simon's thoughts though. "I doubt it," he said quietly, and Scorpius added no more, sensing that Simon didn't want to discuss it further.

Scorpius was going to have to find a way to lift his friend's spirit, because he was seriously lacking self-confidence.

*/*

"Come down stairs, Talitha," Daddy ordered of her, his voice firm. She knew when he used her given name that she was to argue no more with him.

With a moody sigh, Talli dramatically sat up in her bed and heaved herself out of it. "I don't want to bake any stupid biscuits!"

"We do it every year for your school's Christmas party, and I don't think it's fair to stop now."

"I'm not in the holiday spirit, Daddy!" Talli reluctantly followed him down to the kitchen. "Or haven't you noticed?"

Mum was there setting up several mixing bowls, humming a festive tune. "Glad you can join us!" she said happily, shaking a jar of sprinkles. "You're in charge of the decorating!"

"Oh, joy…" Talli responded dryly, rolling her eyes.

"Don't be such a Grinch!" her mother scolded, gesturing for Talli to sit.

Talli sulked as her parents rolled out the dough and made holiday themed shapes. When it came time for her part, she purposely took her time frosting the sweet smelling cookies as her parents flirted with each other, making a mess of themselves. Mum soon had frosting in her hair, and Dad had some on his cheek.

They tried to get Talli to join them in on their little frosting battle, but she wasn't interested.

Usually they all did this with Scorpius, but Scorpius wasn't here. For them to pretend like he wasn't even in existence was terrible.

Talli half-heartedly dipped the biscuits into the bowl of sprinkles. She didn't care that they were the messiest ones she had ever made. It wasn't like she hadn't warned her mum and dad that she was in a bad mood.

They didn't say anything about it though, trying to ignore her foul attitude.

"It's not nice to exclude Scorpius," Talli muttered, finally expressing why she was upset.

"Scorpius won't be here for another few days, and the biscuits are due before then," Mum reasonably explained.

"I don't want to do this!" Talli pushed her chair away from the table and got up, wiping frosting off her hand with a napkin.

"It's for your school," her father protested.

"Well, I don't really care who it's for; I'm not even going to that bloody party anyway!"

" _Talli_!" Mum chastised. "You know better than to use such language!"

"And I'm _not_ sorry," Talli pointedly retorted, crossing her arms over her chest and marching out of the room.

She ignored her dad's demands that she return to apologize to her mum.

Things weren't the same without Scorpius, and they didn't even _care_ that he was no longer there! They had moved on with their lives, but Talli just couldn't do that! Her brother was _much_ more important to her than that! Baking biscuits just wasn't the same without him!

 _Nothing_ was the same without him…

*/*

"You're staying here for the holidays?" Dallas questioned when he had heard Simon say it.

Simon answered with a nod, scribbling an answer down on Professor Lockberry's assignment she had given them to do during their spare time.

"Doesn't your family miss you?" Edgar asked with a furrowed brow. "Mine would _never_ let me stay here for Christmas."

Scorpius nudged his friend in the shoulder, causing Edgar to gasp as his quill streaked ink across his worksheet. "Scorpius! Look what you did!"

Scorpius snatched his bottle of Ink Dissolve from the center of the table and squirted a thin stream along the streak. "There," he said when the mess was gone. "All is good." He then wrote a quick note, alerting Edgar that Simon was very sensitive about his life back with the Muggles.

"Anyone want some cockroaches?" Edgar asked, attempting to save face. He leaned over the side of his chair, pulling out a box of cockroach clusters from his bag.

"My parents aren't in my life," Simon simply explained after the treats had been passed around. He dipped the tip of his quill into a pot, shaking it too hard to rid the excess ink. Simon still was not used to using the very old fashioned method of writing. Ink splattered over the surface of the table. He let out a vulgar curse, one that would get him in trouble if it was said under the Granger-Malfoy home.

Scorpius, as usual, was quick to clean it up. It was good that he had brought a lot of Ink Dissolve with him, but he was going to have to buy some more during his holiday, else he was certainly going to run out before the year was over since his friends didn't have any of their own.

"Why can't we just use pencils?!"

Warren shrugged. "It's just how we do things here…"

"Molly writes hers in Muggle pen first, then casts a charm on the ink that traces over her writing," Edgar informed.

"I need to learn that spell!"

"She says you don't learn it until third year."

"I'll definitely learn it before then!"

"So where are your parents?" Dallas asked curiously after they had gone back to their work.

"Gone." Simon left it at that. His housemates exchanged looks.

"Hogwarts is a nice place to be during the holiday," Scorpius spoke up to lighten the mood, changing the topic. "And it's the perfect time to study, since practically the entire school is absent. Very quiet indeed."

Edgar let out a phony snore, and Warren and Dallas laughed. "Snorefest. You're the only one who would use the holiday to _study_."

"He's right," Simon agreed. "And I'm not going to do that."

"What _are_ you going to do then?" Warren asked. "I can't see this place being much fun without at least one mate to hang out with."

"I'll find something to do."

Scorpius wondered how many other students were going to stay at Hogwarts, and out of those, how many were staying for similar reasons that Simon was?

He didn't want to think about it, but it was something that couldn't be helped. He remembered overhearing a few stories about his uncle Harry whose Muggle family had treated him like scum, and it had always upset Scorpius. He couldn't understand how people could be so awful.

"You know," he said, not realizing that he was interrupting Edgar who was describing to his friends how he would spend his Christmas. "I think we should do something special."

Simon's eyes lifted up from his work, staring Scorpius down with a serious look. He sighed, knowing Scorpius already had a plan in motion. "What's on your mind now?"

"Let's find out who's all staying for Christmas," Scorpius whispered, leaning into the table so those outside the group couldn't hear what he was going to say. "And we can put together gift packages for them! And on Christmas morning, during breakfast, the owls can deliver our gifts!"

"There's a flaw to your plan," Edgar stated. "We can't leave Hogwarts; how can we purchase gifts?"

"And I don't have any money," Simon added, unsuccessfully hiding his glum.

"And neither do I," Warren chimed.

"I can pitch in some." Dallas reached into his robes and extracted a pouch. "My dad never went to Hogwarts— he's not from this country— but his school allowed you to buy from a shop that it owned, well, Hogwarts doesn't have a shop, and it'll be two years before I can go to Hogsmeade, so this money is useless here."

"Thank you, Dallas, that's nice of you, but I got the financial part of it covered. I need your help on other things."

"You have ignored the other concern," Simon pointed out, raising his eyebrows. "How will we get to a shop to even _purchase_ the gifts?"

Scorpius smiled. "That isn't at all relevant. Let's discuss this more tonight, in our dorm, after we've finished our assignments."

"Don't you ever get tired of that?" Edgar demanded, irritated that Scorpius wouldn't go further into detail on his idea.

"Of what?"

"School is always first!" he mocked in a high voice, supposedly trying to sound like Scorpius.

Scorpius laughed at his friend's terrible impersonation of him. "No, because my parents are going to be proud of my grade score."

"Mine will be too, and I don't stress over it as much as you do."

"Well, mine have high expectations, and I'm not going to disappoint them."

"I suppose I can understand; they were the top students in their day."

"Exactly. I can't let them down."

"Eventually, you're going to have to stop doing things just because you think you have to." Simon slipped himself into the conversation between Edgar and Scorpius.

Scorpius shook his head. "There are some things that are more important."

"Yeah, like _yourself_."

"I think about myself," he argued.

"When?"

"All the time."

"Tell me about one of these times," Simon pressed. "Tell me about a time when you put yourself before another person."

"I—" Scorpius thought on it, struggling with his memories of ever doing it. He narrowed his eyes in frustration, realizing that Simon could possibly be right.

"Exactly." Simon's voice was even. " _Scorpius_ is _never_ first."

"Well, there are other people who need more help than—"

" _You_ need help too. _You're_ important too, sunshine."

The other three boys had been watching as Simon and Scorpius continued back and forth, used to their style of arguing by now.

"I'm fine! I got everything that I need!"

"You plan on being like this all of your life— putting other people first? People are just going to use you as a carpet when they find out about your bleeding heart! They'll scam you of your money and emotions, destroying you both financially and emotionally. You don't want that, Scorpius."

"I won't let them do that," Scorpius assured him.

"Yes, you will, you're too nice, and you won't even know it's happening. But _I_ won't let them do that to you. _I'll_ stop them from using you."

Simon's comment had silenced them momentarily, and they spent that time looking each other in the eye, communicating without having to say a word.

Simon was serious. He really intended to keep Scorpius from being hurt by others.

Scorpius then nodded, approving Simon's protective nature over him. It was good for Simon to have someone to care for. Perhaps it was good for them both. Scorpius might actually need his honest objectiveness; maybe he really was blind to people who would take advantage of him.

"Good," Scorpius said, picking his quill up. Simon did the same with his own quill, and they returned to their work, saying nothing more about it.

"Good…?" Dallas asked, immensely confused.

"Good," Edgar said in playful mockery, cracking a grin. "I think I missed something."

Warren shook his head, completely at a loss of what he had just witnessed. "Yeah, me too."

*/*

"I don't normally make such exceptions, but given that your grades are considerably high—you're very much like your mother there— and after hearing your wonderful idea, I've decided to give you the requested information you wanted."

"And father," Scorpius firmly said, catching on that the headmistress had left out that tiny detail. He knew she favoured his mother over his father.

She looked over her glasses, giving him a stern look. "Excuse me?"

"I inherited my father's academic skills too, not just my mother's."

Professor McGonagall allowed a few seconds to pass before she said, "Yes, your father was a brilliant young man."

"He made poor judgment calls when he was a child, but he turned out okay."

"He most certainly did." The headmistress smiled slightly. She didn't smile a lot, so Scorpius thought it was nice to see. "You are a special boy, Mr. Granger-Malfoy. You inherited the best of qualities from both of your parents."

She then flicked her wand, summoning up a sheet of paper with the information he had asked for, handing it to him.

"I'll be showing my friends this," Scorpius told her, wanting her to know every detail just in case she would disapprove of something he may do later on.

She nodded. "I expected nothing different, I had assumed you would involve the others."

"Thank you for your help, headmistress. There's going to be a lot of people happy this holiday season because of you!"

Scorpius heard her chuckle to herself as he exited the office. He grinned, already feeling accomplished, and they hadn't even started yet!

"Got it!" Scorpius announced proudly as he stepped into his dormitory. He waved the sheet of paper that listed everyone who was going to stay at Hogwarts.

There were 25 people staying behind excluding the teachers, and Scorpius said that even the adults were going to get something.

"Filch too?" Simon wrinkled his nose.

" _Especially_ Filch." Scorpius doubted the man had any family. He couldn't do a lot of the janitorial work anymore as he was awfully old, but he still patrolled the halls late at night, eager to catch naughty students past their curfew.

That night, the young Slytherins stayed up well past their bedtime, planning Scorpius's gifting idea. They decided to assign each of them an equal amount of people who weren't going home for the holidays, making their workload a little easier on themselves.

Everyone was going to get a generic package with a few limited edition holiday themed sweets in conjunction of a special item that was more personalized. This meant that most of the people on the list they would have to investigate a little.

"I know Franny Dillweed really likes unicorns. We can buy her a scarf pin in the shape of one," Warren suggested.

"How would you know that she likes unicorns?" Dallas asked curiously. "Dillweed is in Hufflepuff, and we've never spoken to her."

Warren looked down at his list, purposely hiding his face. "I overheard her talking…" he mumbled.

" _Eavesdropping_ maybe?" Edgar teased.

"No, she really does talk a lot," Simon spoke up in Warren's defense. "If she's with that girlfriend of hers—"

"Mabel," Warren supplied, earning a look from his friends. He chuckled nervously.

"She never shuts up if she's with _Mabel_." Simon stared at Warren. "So, buy her a unicorn pin then, lover boy."

"I don't _love_ her!"

"Guys," Scorpius cut in, not at all wanting for this to go on much further. "Back to the lists. I know Cara Zabini, she _loves_ Muggle cars, and one day wants to build one up from scratch, so I'll get her a pink steering wheel cover or something."

"Hanson is obsessed with wolves," Dallas informed them about a fourth year in Gryffindor.

"He's constantly howling like one." Warren rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, and he's _really_ good at it!"

"Anyone know anything about Georgina Miller?" Scorpius asked when he came upon her name.

"Sixth year, I think. Doesn't really speak to anyone," Edgar answered. "I don't even think she has a friend."

"Yeah, I heard something about that," Warren said. "They say she's a mute."

"By choice?" Scorpius questioned. He earned a shrug; Warren didn't know either way.

"Guess I'll find out then."

With some help from Molly (Georgina was a Ravenclaw too), Scorpius learned that Georgina spent most of her free time in the greenhouses, specifically the one that was used as a hibernacula for insects.

"She practically _lives_ there. She must really like bugs." The thought made Molly visibly cringe.

Scorpius hadn't been to the hibernacula yet, he wouldn't start learning about magical insects until at least his fourth year— _if_ he elected to do so.

This particular greenhouse was large, and it was noisy. Insects chattered, squawked and buzzed. From books, he knew some were poisonous, but Scorpius had taken the precautions, applying a bit of spray that would prevent the aggressive ones from wanting to attack him.

Several would eat each other in their natural habitat, but these ones were charmed to keep their primitive appetite suppressed.

Scorpius saw Georgina—she being the only one there besides himself— standing at a potted tree, clicking her tongue at something that looked like an ugly, thick stick with wings. The said insect flew delicately into her hand where she brought it up to her face and nudged it with her nose.

That was when the girl noticed him. She let out a startled shriek, causing the bug to dash off and hide.

If a shriek could erupt from her, it meant that her larynx was in good shape; she couldn't really be a mute then.

"I didn't mean to scare you and your… _friend_ …" he said apologetically, inching his way to her, looking to see if the insect would come back out, truly feeling bad he had interrupted their bonding.

Georgina clicked her tongue again, calling out the bug with blue and pink wings.

Scorpius had never seen something so hideous have such beautiful wings; silver laced outlines, with one wing having a blue blotch, and the other a pink. When they flapped together, the wings made a purplish blur.

"What is that?" he asked conversationally, hoping that his interest in her 'friend' would get her to talk.

Georgina allowed the bug to crawl up her arm, and she watched as it did until it buried itself into her blonde, shaggy hair. She giggled from its tickling limbs.

Scorpius laughed softly and sat on a bench as a bee landed on him. "Hi, there, mate, and how are you this afternoon?" he asked the fuzzy creature, wiggling his finger at it in a welcoming gesture.

He looked up, hearing Georgina laugh when it buzzed off— the bee had been scared of his movement. "Don't mind Mimsy, she's not very sociable, just very nosey."

"What about the one nuzzled in your hair?"

"I call him Fertility. He's part of a pair that has been brought here to multiply. He's rare, you see, _extremely_ rare. He's practically extinct!"

"I see." Scorpius had not known that Hogwarts had been taking part in helping creatures from extinction. "That's nice."

"I've been around since Fertility was first relocated here two years back. We're very close. Once, I found him in my trunk at home, and I had to call Professor Trinket— he's the entomologist— to come and get him!"

"Aww, it's too bad you can't take him home with you."

"Yeah, but he's well cared for here, so I'd rather he stay here."

"What _is_ he anyway?"

"Oh, Fertility is a magical flying phasmatodea, better known as 'the flying thick stick'."

"He has pretty wings."

"They come in pink, blue, brown, and red, but the colour of their wings is only cosmetic, and it doesn't even seem to matter to their mates. They're like humans, as in they mate for life. His mate is named Megs, and she's sleeping right now. Flying thick sticks are nocturnal, but Fertility usually will wake up to see me."

"Georgina is _far_ from a mute," Scorpius explained a couple days later at dinner. "I always have to use an excuse that I'll be late for a class before I can get away. But she knows bucket loads of stuff about insects, so I know who to contact if I have a question about them that needs a full answer."

"So you thought of what you're going to get her then?" Warren asked.

"I was thinking of a terrarium."

"No idea what that is," Edgar admitted before taking a bite from a piece of garlic bread.

"It's basically a breathable container for plants and small animals, but insects can be kept in them too."

"That's not a terrible idea," Dallas noted.

"So have you guys decided more for anyone else on your lists?"

Simon was the only one who had his list finished. He displayed a smug smile over his accomplishment, sliding his sheet of names and gifts over to Scorpius to take for later on.

"It just means you get to help the rest of us out," Edgar told him, snickering when Simon rolled his eyes.

*/*

"So, now that we have our shopping list complete, what's your plan on how to purchase all of these items?"

Scorpius's lips slowly stretched out, displaying a grin at Simon's inquiry. "I overheard my mother talking this last summer. There's a new service that someone started up, and it's provided some jobs to house elves who have been born free— there's plenty out there now looking for work. It's a delivery service! You give them a list of things to buy, and they'll do all the shopping for you! It's perfect for those of us who can't get to a shop for whatever reason!"

Simon thought on it, nodding in approval. "That's actually a great idea. How are you going to pay for it though? Will your mum and dad let you buy all that stuff?"

"Yeah, but I don't want them knowing about this."

"Why not?"

Scorpius wrinkled his brow. "They would make a big deal of it. Father's still working on redeeming the family name, and mother would positively gush over it and tell her friends."

"Why not ask them to keep it a secret?"

Scorpius shook his head, having already thought about doing that. "Mother would be okay with it, but I'd never hear the end of it from my father. He'd pester me about it."

Simon sighed. "So what then? How are you going to get—" He looked down at the paper, narrowing his eyes. "—the thousands of Galleons needed to purchase all this?"

"I don't need _thousands_ ," Scorpius told him. "I'm estimating about five hundred."

"Which is how many pounds again?"

Scorpius stuck his tongue out, quickly doing the math in his head. "Something like twenty-five hundred pounds."

Simon's eyes grew wide. "That's…" His voice grew squeaky. "That's a _lot_ of money…!"

"You would faint if you knew how much my grandparents spent on a single banquet."

"I probably would."

"My family makes more in a week than we ever spend in a month."

"Are you actually _bragging_ , sunshine?"

"Just stating the fact. Both my parents work successful careers, and a lot comes from interest alone."

"I couldn't imagine being so wealthy."

"My parents didn't raise us to be spoiled snobs. We have always helped others in need."

"And that I don't doubt, Scorpius. I have never met your parents, but from what I see in you, and what I heard from the grapevine, they must truly be amazing people."

"They are, and so is the rest of my family. You'll meet them someday, and you'll see what I mean."

"I'm really looking forward to it."

Weetoo came in then, dropping an envelope into Scorpius's lap. The bird landed on the arm of the chair Scorpius sat in and waited for the boy to read what he had just gotten.

"Is it from your grandfather?!" Simon asked eagerly. He had been waiting patiently for Scorpius's grandfather to write some good news.

"It is," Scorpius answered. But what Grandfather had written wasn't anything out of the ordinary: he still hadn't found any leads that would help him with finding Simon's father.

"Don't worry, Simon," Scorpius whispered softly, noticing his friend's slumping stance. "He'll find him."

But Scorpius could tell that his friend was starting to disbelieve that.

"The good news is that my grandfather will pull out the money we need for the gifts."

Simon acknowledged the statement with a grunt.

*/*

Scorpius felt guilty for having to leave his new best friend behind, but without the Morgans' permission, Simon couldn't leave Hogwarts— not even to spend Christmas with the Granger-Malfoys.

Simon hadn't bothered to ask his awful guardians about it either, knowing they would be against the idea.

"Stop worrying about me," Simon demanded as they all approached the carriages that were drawn by invisible skeletal horses called thestrals. "I'm going to be okay."

"And we _didn't_ forget about you!" Edgar exclaimed, giving Simon a wink. "We got you a Christmas pack too!"

Simon chuckled, mildly amused. "I figured as much."

"So…" Scorpius said, looking at Simon pitifully.

"See you in a couple weeks, sunshine." Simon forced himself to be cheery. "Happy Christmas." He held his hand up for Scorpius to high five.

Scorpius went to slap his friend's palm, but he made no contact because Simon had moved his hand out of the way. Simon burst out laughing. "Ya missed, mate!" He lightly punched Scorpius's shoulder.

"Happy Christmas, tough guy!" Scorpius took out an object from the bag he was carrying and held it out for Simon. "You can use this while I'm gone."

Simon's mouth gaped. "Really?"

Scorpius nodded. "I won't need it while I'm at home."

Simon's lips trembled. He sniffed his nose and quickly wiped it, embarrassed. "Bloody cold weather!" he muttered as his eyes reddened by the second.

Warren snorted, earning a threatening look from Simon, and he immediately climbed up into the carriage to join Dallas and Edgar after mumbling a hasty good-bye.

"Thanks, Scorpius." Simon said, once he had recovered from his sensitive moment. "This means quite a lot to me."

Scorpius nodded, smiling a bit. "I know. That's why I did it."

It was his turn to get in the carriage, and they said no more as Scorpius stepped up into it, settling himself next to Edgar.

As the carriage pulled away, they all waved to their friend who had to stay behind all by himself. Simon held the mirror firmly in his hand, waving back at them with it. A huge smile spread out across his face.


	5. Family Time

Talli made a dead run at Scorpius, excited to see her brother since September. He had emptied his arms, setting down his belongings in order to embrace her hug.

"You don't have _any_ idea how much I missed you!"

Oh, but Scorpius did. He had missed Talli a _lot_. He had missed them all.

"Tallistar!" He squeezed her tightly, letting her know that he had missed her just as much.

"Please don't go back!"

He laughed. She was being serious, but the idea was preposterous, and they both knew it.

"You know I must."

"Yes, I know…" she acknowledged glumly, "but I was only hoping you would say you wouldn't…!"

"Oh, you've grown so much!" Mother said when they had made their way over to their parents. She pulled him to her for a hug and kissed the top of his head. "We've missed you!"

"I know. I missed you too, Mother!"

"I'll have to charm your clothing until the summer, your robes look a little short!"

"They're fine," he said, stepping back to look down at the bottoms of his robes. They were just at his ankles. He didn't see the need to fuss over it, but Mother would likely stretch them out just the same.

"Let me get a look at you, son!" Father exclaimed after they had hugged. His eyes shined, proudly smiling at the Slytherin crest on Scorpius's robes and scarf. " _My_ son!" he said, sending Mother a triumphant grin.

She laughed. " _Our_ son could use a cup of hot chocolate— am I right?" Mother directed the question at Scorpius, but Talli answered before he could.

"Yes! We can go to that little cafe on the corner! I love their hot Butterbeer!"

Scorpius agreed with Talli. "Let's go then!"

Father went and arranged to have his house elf deliver Scorpius's belongings to their home, so they wouldn't have to pack them around.

Then they were off to warm up in the small cafe, ordering up a snack and a hot drink, exchanging stories with one another.

Father's parents were eagerly waiting for them when they returned home. Grandmother reacted very much like Mother had, except her voice was a bit higher with emotion, and tears ran down her face.

"My adorable, little Slytherin!" she praised, pinching Scorpius's cheeks affectionately, making him wince at the soreness her action brought. "We're so proud of you!"

Grandfather gave him a nod and patted Scorpius on the shoulder. "I knew you were a Slytherin."

Scorpius had spent a lot of time with his grandfather while growing up, and he had often said that Scorpius was "too much like his mother", so the boy was confused by the statement, since Mother was a Gryffindor.

He felt a little bad at first when he had been sorted into Slytherin, thinking Mother would feel out of place, but she appeared fine with the Malfoy side of the family gushing over his Slytherin status.

" _The amulet you trust so blindly has spoken, boy; will you accept the house it says to sort you in?"_

Scorpius didn't even give the sorting hat's question a thought. He fully trusted the amulet. " _I do."_

" _Then you have decided… SLYTHERIN…!"_

Scorpius remembered roaring cheers of absolute excitement. By then, plenty of people knew of him. He was a heroine's son— the son of the Brightest-Witch-of-the-Era— and the sole heir of the infamous Malfoy bloodline to boot, who had been the conception of a love bond (a rare and very power type of magic). So, naturally, the Slytherins were excited to have him.

Of course there were other famous children besides himself. Edgar also got an excited applause when he too had been announced a Slytherin— the first son of the Weasley bloodline to have _ever_ been sorted into the house.

Scorpius just hoped that Uncle Ron would make Edgar feel less uncomfortable about being a Slytherin. Uncle Ron was a little biased when it came to Gryffindors and not so much with the Slytherins (for obvious reasons). After Albus's sorting last year though, he had a chance to get used to the idea of having a Slytherin in the family. But by the letters that Edgar had received from home from his father, both boys knew that the man was gutted to know that his only son was now a Slytherin.

" _A SLYTHERIN?! You let yourself be sorted into SLYTHERIN?! You could have even chosen your mum's house, but SLYTHERIN?!"_

That sole paragraph of the first letter from home was one that would probably forever be planted into Edgar's head.

It certainly was in Scorpius's, and it would be in there for quite a long time. It made Scorpius often ask himself if his own father would have done the same if he had been a Gryffindor.

Edgar had laughed it off, but Scorpius sensed that his friend was a little upset with his father. And even after months of passing, Edgar had been a bit nervous with having to go home— though he never voiced it.

But Scorpius knew…

The redhead's foot had tapped almost the entire train ride, and he kept rubbing his hands on his pants, wiping the sweat away. Dallas and Warren hadn't noticed these ticks of his, but Scorpius had.

He would have addressed Edgar about it, but he knew Edgar would avoid the subject like he had all these months and make some joke that his dad was going send him off to a different school next year just so he couldn't be a Slytherin.

He never spoke serious when it came to his dad and his Slytherin sorting.

Scorpius was sure that Uncle Ron wouldn't treat him horrid or anything, though, but it would be for the best if he had gotten over Edgar's sorting.

Though, Scorpius had doubts. Mother often said that Uncle Ron could still occasionally be an insensitive wart.

Scorpius was relieved to finally go up to his room for bed after a busy night, but Talli had other ideas. "I'm glad you're back," she said, following him in. "I've been on restriction for the past _four_ days, and it's been _boring_! All they would let me do is _read_! Can you _believe_ it?"

Scorpius had heard about her punishment, and he didn't exactly think his parents were out of line for issuing it. He felt bad for Talli, but what she had done to Father and Mother was undeserved.

"Well, then it would be a good idea not to speak vulgar words in front of Mother, and then ignore her altogether when she addresses it."

"Yeah…" she agreed with a grumble. "But you should have been here! They acted like you weren't even a _part_ of our life anymore!"

"I doubt that, Talli."

"They made biscuits and everything!"

Scorpius laughed, finding her statement ridiculous. "So they're not allowed to bake while I'm away? That's not very fair, is it?"

She sighed. "It's not that, it's just… _Oh_! You just had to have been here to _know_!" Talli tossed her hands up, frustrated.

"They replied to my every letter. That's not something people do when they have forgotten someone exists," Scorpius reasoned. "They were probably trying not to make you feel left out. Afterall, Mother took time off work so that she, you and Father could spend time with each other."

"But she didn't for _you_ last summer, knowing it was our last one before you started school!"

"Because she had an important case that she was handling right then. There were a lot of house elves getting kidnapped."

Talli's face pinched at his reminder. "Yeah…"

"We're important, Talli, but so are _they_. We have a swell life—"

"I know that!"

"Good, because we're very lucky to have what we got, some people— some _creatures_ — aren't so lucky."

"You're really making me feel bad..:"

"I just want you to know that you're blessed, nothing more."

She nodded, giving it a thought. "I suppose so."

Scorpius lay down, covering up with a quilt and closing his eyes.

"Will you show me some tricks you learned?"

"They aren't tricks, Talli," he corrected her, smiling at the terms she was picking up from the influence of the Muggles she went to school with nearly everyday. "They are spells— actual magic, not illusions."

"Okay, but you'll show me what you know?"

"Tomorrow," he promised, yawning. "I want to sleep now."

"Alright." Talli reluctantly made her way to the door. "Night, chomper."

Around one in the morning, Scorpius woke up with a thudding pulse, an effect of a dream he just had. The details of it were slipping away fast, and he tried to remember what it was that had startled him, wondering why the dream would make him wake up so suddenly. All he could remember was wanting to open a locked door.

A few minutes passed before his pulse returned to normal. He rolled over onto his stomach, readying himself to go back to sleep. Feeling relaxed, his eyes fluttered closed, and he took a deep breath in comfort.

He woke again an hour later, gasping for air. His mouth was so dry, he couldn't breathe. Scorpius hurried to the bathroom that he shared with his sister and gulped down handfuls of water to wet his throat.

When he could breathe again, he wiped his lips and chin with a towel, drying them. He looked at his sleepy reflection in the mirror, and immediately remembered what had brought him out of his slumber.

" _I'll get rid of you, you devil child!"_

Shivers of fear ran throughout his body as the memory of not being able to breathe lingered in his mind.

Scorpius returned to his bed, but he didn't want to go back to sleep. Not after that. Who could sleep after that?

His lack of sleep didn't go unnoticed at breakfast. Everyone commented on how tired he looked, even Father's house-elf, Toogy.

"It's so quiet here compared to the dorm," Scorpius easily came up with an excuse, to which his parents chimed in with memories of coming home from school and trying to adjust to different sounds than they had been used to.

Talli then pleaded Scorpius to show her some of the spells he had been taught at Hogwarts. He knew nothing that she hadn't seen before, but Scorpius wanted to make his sister happy, so they went upstairs where his books were (in case he needed them for reference).

She watched him closely with envy, and all that did was make Scorpius feel guilty that she was a Squib, unable to perform magic.

"Can I try?" she asked after Scorpius had levitated one of her stuffed toys. He couldn't move it around the room yet, having just learned to properly lift it up from a surface and keep gravity from pushing it back down.

"I suppose." Though he saw no point. Scorpius offered his wand to her, and Talli took no time to take it.

She smiled, gripping it. "Okay, how do you make it light up again?"

Scorpius showed her the movement using his hand and finger. She repeated his instruction, frowning when nothing happened. He watched as her eyes swelled up in tears and took his wand back, pocketing it. Scorpius pulled his sister into a hug, helplessly apologizing to her, wishing that she really could do magic.

"I'm okay," Talli said after a few moments. She stepped from him, sniffing loudly. "You said you had to talk to your friend before we leave, so you best do that before it's too late."

Scorpius was hesitate to leave her alone, but she was right: Mum had the day planned full of activities, so he would have little chance to talk with Simon if he didn't do it now.

"You look dreadful, sunshine," Simon noted when Scorpius had went to his room and mirror-called him.

"I got absolutely no sleep last night."

Simon nodded understandably. "Neither did I."

"You don't look bad though."

"My body is used to it— why couldn't you sleep?"

"I'll tell you after the holiday."

With that response, his friend knew that Scorpius didn't want to discuss it with the chance of someone overhearing him.

"Gritty took a liking to me today," Simon announced, changing the subject.

"Professor Bulstrode's ferret?"

"Mmhm. Did you know she fetches? She's better than Donatello. It's hard to believe."

Donatello was the Morgans' dog that Simon had took a liking to. It was the only thing that he missed from his Muggle life.

"A ferret that fetches?"

"Yeah, who knew. She's actually really brilliant, Scorpius. I should show you when you get back."

"Sounds fun."

There was a knock on Scorpius's door then. "Scorpy, we're leaving in fifteen minutes!" Mother informed.

"Guess it's time to do family stuff now, tough guy," he said, upset with having to leave Simon so soon.

"Right," Simon acknowledged quickly. "I'm going to go see what trouble I can get into."

Scorpius gave him a serious look. "Don't get yourself any detentions," he warned. "You don't need to spend your holiday writing lines."

"Who says I'm going to get caught?" Simon sent him a cheeky grin and ended the mirror-call, leaving Scorpius there to roll his eyes.

Talli came dancing in, twirling around in a circle, excited for their upcoming outing. Her lack of spell casting long forgotten. They were going to see _The Nutcracker on Ice_ , something she had been wanting to see for a while.

"One day, I'm going to play as the Nutcracker!"

"You quit dancing, remember? How will you do that?"

Talli shrugged indifferently. "Just because I quit the dance _club_ , doesn't mean I quit _dancing_."

Talli left him to get dressed then, and Scorpius changed into some Muggle-looking clothes and went down stairs to the flooing room. Mother was still getting things in order, and Father was impatiently telling her that she had everything already.

Talli came down a few minutes later, asking Father to help her with her hair. He used a quick spell to put it up into a bun.

"That's too tight, Daddy!"

"How's that, princess?" he asked a moment later after adjusting it.

Talli patted at her head a few times. "That's good, thanks!"

"Leave your wand here, Scorpius," Mother ordered as she walked by in time enough to see him tuck it into the shirt he was wearing.

"I must learn to keep it with me," he argued. "You never know what may happen."

"No," she returned, swiping it from the inside of his shirt. "You won't be needing it. Not in a Muggle community. I'm not going to risk any chances of anything happening."

Scorpius sighed, watching as his beloved wand disappeared to Merlin knew where.

"I'll give it back when we return home," she promised, taking a moment to wrap an arm around him, squeezing him close to her.

"I know," he said. "I just feel naked without it now."

"I'd like to know how many times you were without your wand when you were his age," Father whispered to Mother, causing her to stiffen.

Obviously, she had not been without it very often.

"If _anything_ happened, you know exactly _who_ they would blame— are you interested in reversing all your hard work just for him to be able to carry his wand around?"

Sometimes Mother's points could be incredibly annoying.

Even if she was right.

"Sorry, chomper," Father said, giving him a bit of an apologetic smile. "It's just for the day."

"Mum has the entire week planned with activities," Talli reminded him. "So it's practically all of the holiday— except for at Grandmother's Christmas banquet!" Here she began swaying around the room, humming to herself, pretending she was at the banquet. Talli loved Grandmother's parties, and her favorite part was the dancing (of course).

"Dance with me, Scorpius!" She took him by the hand and pulled him with her, giggling as he humored her, dancing around the room in the Jive.

"Talli, settle down, you'll mess your hair all up!" Mother scolded, making Scorpius slow their movements into a halt. His hair was long and tidy, but Talli's hair was extremely hard to maintain. A few curls were already hanging out of the bun Father had given her.

"Are we going then?" he asked his mother, watching her grab her coat and put it on.

"Yes, we are. Into your jackets, hurry now! I don't want us to be late!"

As it turned out, Scorpius found _The Nutcracker_ to be exceedingly boring, and all it did was make him want to fall asleep. Though, since he hadn't had much sleep the night before, it wasn't a hard task to do.

Mother nudged him awake several times, insisting that it was rude for him to do such a thing, considering all the hard work the performers put into their show.

Unfortunately, Scorpius agreed, but he couldn't help himself. He tried everything to keep awake: wiggling his legs, tapping his feet, pinching his skin, rapid eye blinking, nonchalant pulls at his hair, but none of that made his boredom and tiredness go away.

This was worse than History of Magic! At least there you could tune out Professor Bins by reading the book!

But there, he didn't have his mother sitting next to him in the class, urging him to stay awake and pay attention either.

Admittedly, Scorpius had napped in History of Magic a few times, but most of what the professor droned on with was in the book already— which Scorpius had read over and over again in his lifetime. Heck, Mother had read it to him so many times during his youth, that he nearly had the book memorized.

Sleeping in the class hadn't hurt his grades, the last he knew.

Finally, Scorpius announced that he had to use the loo. Father instantly voiced the same thing.

"Hurry back, dears," Mother said, engrossed in the show. "You'll miss the ending."

"You don't like the show, do you?" Father asked when they were safely out of Mother's hearing range.

"No, not really, no," Scorpius answered regrettably.

"Well, we'll catch a Quidditch match before you go back to Hogwarts. You still like going to them, right?"

"Father, I didn't get kissed by a Dementor! My _soul_ is still here! Of _course_ I still like watching Quidditch! I'd love to go to a match!"

And so, Father was able to obtain tickets to see the match between Pride of Portree and the Tutshill Tornadoes. Scorpius was a fan of Puddlemore United, but they weren't going to play until next month, so he rooted for the Prides.

Talli, who was a huge fan of the Holyhead Harpies (specifically because their team contained only girls) also supported the Prides, saying that they were expected to win. Apparently, the Tornadoes' newest Keeper was having a terrible season.

And the Prides _did_ win: 320-60.

"That's going to hurt the Tornadoes' score dramatically," Talli announced above the cheers surrounding them. She watched sympathetically as the losing team disappeared into their tent.

"Yeah," Scorpius agreed. The Tornadoes were one step from the bottom of the ladder now.

"There's still half a season left," their father said encouragingly, "anything can happen."

*/*

Malfoy Manor was packed with people for Grandmother's annual Christmas banquet. It seemed that with every year that passed, her guest list grew. Grandfather said it hadn't met the record though, stating that in 1977, the Manor had 1,342 guests. That was a lot!

This year, it had 533, and several of them were Talli and Scorpius's age. Some of them they didn't even know though.

Like Gabriel Nowak— a boy who Talli had the misfortune of meeting that night.

"Excuse me?" the tall, thin, green-eyed boy asked. He was just a couple of months older than Talli, but he was already Scorpius's height. "You said _you_ baked these?" Gabriel wrinkled his face at the biscuit in his hand. He had been fine with it only seconds before, and had even said it was one of the best he had ever had; that was until Talli proudly told him that she and her family had made them.

"Yes, _I_ baked them," she answered firmly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Is that a problem?"

His nose lifted in outright disgust. "My mother did mention that your family has been wallowing with the common folk lately. A shame really. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, what with your father married to a Mudbloo—"

Talli threw her glass of punch into the boy's face and snatched the biscuit from his hand. " _Terribly_ sorry," she announced sarcastically and took a bite of the biscuit, speaking the next with her mouth full, "My halfblood reflexes just must not compare to your _prestige_ ones. Then again, if you were so great, you would have ducked from the mess to begin with."

The horrid boy's mouth was open in a large gap. He sputtered out sounds, completely flabbergasted.

"Does fruit juice make your brain swell up?" she teased his inability to speak properly during his shock.

" _Mother_ …!" he wailed out in a high pitch, running off to go find her.

"That's right, run to _Mummy_!" she sneered after him.

Talli was so upset with that boy! Her parents had spoken about people like him, and she had read about people like him, but she had never had to personally deal with someone like him!

She was sure if Mum found out what she had just done, she was going to get lectured and perhaps punished.

Talli grit her teeth, slamming the punch glass down onto the buffet table. It broke from the harsh impact, shattering into pieces."Ah, hell!" she spat, stepping back away from the mess, assessing it.

"Whoops!" an older girl said near her, noticing the mess. "Accidents happen! I'll clean it up!" she offered, taking out her wand.

"Thanks!" Talli muttered, grateful that the girl was nice enough to help her.

Of course if Talli could just simply wave a wand at a mess, cleaning it up in a jiffy, she too would have found it no big deal to do.

And that thought alone sucked any remaining happiness right out of her.

She really liked banquets. She adored the dresses and the dancing. She always got excited over the glamorous decorations. But it was never long before she'd be reminded that she honestly didn't belong with these people.

People didn't bring up the subject of her being a Squib— well, not to her face anyway; it was all over the papers though. She didn't much like the news for that reason.

Some reporters had false hope for her, arguing that plenty of known wizards and witches in history had been considered Squibs in their youth only to have cast accidental magic later in their childhood. But none of them had been as _old_ as Talli neither.

Then there were the petty reporters who were _wagering_ on if Talli would receive a Hogwarts letter or not!

People were _betting_ on her _life_!

It was disgraceful!

Yet, sadly, she was used to it. Everyone in the world knew practically everything about her, including her going to a Muggle school.

Some researchers even wanted to do tests on her, claiming that they wanted to understand 'her' Squib blood more, but Mum and Daddy refused to allow that, much to Talli's relief.

There were also a handful of people who felt Talli didn't belong in their part of the world. She had read an article once which explained that they thought Talli's family should _shun_ her to the Muggle world.

Talli _really_ hated reading.

Especially the news.

And history.

History was full of awful people too.

Why couldn't people understand that no two people were alike?!

She made sure to move around the crowd of people, knowing Mum would be looking for her. Talli occasionally spotted her mother, but because Mum was so popular and famous, the woman had a hard time slipping away from a fan to address Talli.

After evading her mother successfully for an hour, she felt someone grab her upper arm and looked up to see her grandfather.

"Hi." She smiled, giving him an innocent look.

"Oh, I have heard what you have done," he said, disapprovingly. "Your mother has been wanting to give you an earful, and your grandmother too." Grandfather pulled her to a seat, making her sit down.

"He was a nasty boy, Grandfather— he's lucky I didn't flatten his nose!"

"Nonetheless, ruining an expensive piece of clothing is not the proper thing to do."

"As if his _mummy_ couldn't cast a spell to remove the stain!"

" _Talitha_."

Talli sighed. "Yes, Grandfather, you're right," she responded automatically. "I should have just let that ruddy boy call my mother a filthy Mudblood."

The man looked around at the crowd from where he stood, hovering over her, seeing if anyone heard what she said.

"After all, it's just a _word_. And so what if some pathetic member of the _press_ chances to overhear that a _bigoted_ son of an _invited_ guest of _Malfoy_ Manor shows his true colours? What can words do to someone's _image_ anyway. Words can't _hurt_ people, _can_ they, Grandfather?"

Grandfather's lips thinned uncomfortably. He rose up a hand to stop her from saying anything more. "Alright, child, I get your point. I'll talk to your mother." He then excused her and hurried off to speak with her mum.

Satisfied that she got out of that predicament, Talli ventured to the dancing area, hearing the music switch to one of her favourite songs.

"There you are!" Lily came up to her, grabbing her hand. "Everyone's been asking where you've been! They want you to show them some moves! Come on!"

Talli obliged. The magical kids were always interested in some of the Muggle modern dancing— though Daddy forbid her from 'twerking'; she could see his point with that one.

Like the Muggles, wizards and witches couldn't get enough of the Moon Walk and quite a few other moves that the legendary Michael Jackson was known for. It wasn't long before Talli was surrounded by kids who attempted to mimic some assorted steps that she had demonstrated for them.

She laughed when they struggled to suicide (a move used in break dancing) after she had finished the song with it. "None of you have _any_ form whatsoever!" Talli said, stuck in giggles. "E for Effort though!"

Then something caught her attention. The music had changed into something softer, and Scorpius was leading someone around in the Foxtrot— his favourite ballroom dance.

"Don't do it, Tal," Lily warned, blocking Talli's path from her brother.

"Get out of my way!" Talli quickly darted around Lily and sprinted over to her brother, cutting in between Scorpius and the girl.

"You don't mind, do you, Van?" she asked rhetorically, pulling her brother away from Vanity Goyle.

Her brother definitely wasn't ready for girls to crush on him. He was much too nice to turn them down.


	6. The Trouble I'm In

"You honestly couldn't have waited until the song was over?" Scorpius asked as his sister lead them through the song. "Vanity and I were having fun. Apparently, she has been practicing this dance for a while now. Can you believe that? The Foxtrot—of all the dances."

"She still needs a little practice," Talli stated. "She's not very good at it."

"Well, Vanity is a beginner, _we_ didn't learn it all in one day. Give her a chance. I'm sure she'll be good in no time."

"Vanity has two left feet, Scorpius, and she's much too large for the dress she's wearing."

Scorpius immediately put their dancing to a halt. He separated his hands from his sister's, giving her a look.

"That's a horrible thing to say, Talli." His voice was barely above a whisper, hoping that no one would overhear them. "I have no clue where you learned that kind of behavior, and we both know that our parents would not accept that kind of thing from _anyone._ Frankly, I'm appalled. I thought you were better than that."

He turned right on his heel and stalked away from her, leaving her there to think about what had just happened.

Scorpius found Vanity sitting at a table with some other kids, and the two exchanged smiles.

"You look delightful in that dress, Vanity," he complimented, making up for what his sister had chided only moments ago with. Though, the girl hadn't heard it (thankfully), it was good that she was complimented. She was big boned, but Vanity was also filling out in areas, 'blossoming' earlier than most ten-year-old girls.

"Thank you," she mumbled, looking away from him.

Scorpius felt bad knowing he had embarrassed her. He hadn't meant to do that. He was only trying to make her feel good about herself.

"Hi, there, Scorpius," a familiar voice pulled his attention from Vanity.

"Hi, Nora," he greeted the youngest Zabini daughter. "How's everyone on your end?"

"Swell, I suppose. Mum is somewhere around here gossiping, and Papa is out on a gig, singing in Singapore. Cinzia is visiting one of her Muggle friends—personally, I think she _likes_ him for more than a friend, but that's just me— and Cara is stressing out over her O.W.L.s; I simply can't _wait_ until my fifth year," she added the last with sarcasm. "I'll still come back for the holidays unlike Cara, though. Papa promised he would be back in time for Christmas, but it's going to be strange without my sisters there."

"Perhaps next year your entire family can get together for Christmas."

"I sure hope so. I miss Cinzia, and Christmas just isn't going to be the same without she and Cara."

Scorpius sat there silently, politely listening to Elenora talk on, a thing she was known for. When ever she was in the conversation, she hardly let anyone else add anything. It wasn't that she was rude, that's just how she was.

Hours later, Scorpius had escaped to his room at Malfoy Manor after the banquet had ended, and shortly after doing so, Talli announced with a knock that she wanted to talk to him.

"I'm sorry," she said when he permitted her to enter. "I really didn't mean those things I said—"

"So why did you say them then?" he cut in, not particularly happy with what she had done.

Talli shrugged and dropped her eyes to the pale blue carpeting below her feet. "It's a girl thing, I guess."

Now _that_ confused Scorpius. "A girl thing? I didn't know you had to be a girl to say cruel things about another person. Vanity is a lovely girl who really has done nothing to no one. What you said about her was really uncalled for and undeserving."

"You wouldn't understand, chomper," Talli mumbled.

"I understand a lot of things. I understand more than you think I do."

"You wouldn't understand _this_."

Scorpius sighed tiredly and draped an arm over his forehead. "Just tell me what it is, Talli."

"Vanity's changing. She's seeing things differently."

"This has something to do with puberty, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," Talli said slowly, not quite certain either way. "I think it does."

"So now she's not allowed to dance with boys because she might enjoy it just a bit too much?"

"Well, I don't care if she dances with boys, she just can't dance with _you_."

Scorpius laughed. "You sound ridiculous! We were just having fun— nothing more than a _silly_ dance!"

"Dancing is _not_ silly, Scorpius!" she snapped, placing her hands to her hips. "Dancing is an _art_ , and many of us take it _very_ seriously— _including_ Vanity, but you're too _oblivious_ to understand, which was what I was _trying_ to tell you to begin with!"

"Alright, it's not silly," he quickly backtracked, wincing a bit, feeling bad for what he had said. "Sorry."

Talli huffed, hardly forgiving of his insult to her beloved hobby. "I told you that you wouldn't understand! I really don't know why I even bothered!"

She left after that, leaving Scorpius to himself. He was completely confused with what she had said.

Maybe she was right. Maybe it was a girl thing, and he couldn't understand it.

Whatever _it_ was…

*/*

Christmas morning changed Talli's mood back into cheerfulness. Each year, the family would take turns between going to their grandparents' homes, and this year they were going to Grandmama and Grandpapa's (Mother's parents).

Father's parents would come too, although it had taken a while before Grandfather agreed to spend Christmas with a pair of Muggles, but Scorpius remembered that both his grandmother and his father had to threaten Grandfather in order to get him to do it. They had said that he would spend all future Christmases alone until he included the Muggle part of the family. Scorpius had been five then, and since then, Grandfather made no arguments with spending Christmas in a Muggle's home.

No one really wants to be alone on Christmas, after all, especially him.

Talli loved the beach, even if she didn't like swimming much (she hated when water got up into her sinuses), but she really enjoyed watching the surfing competitions, particularly because Grandmother now competed.

Yes, Narcissa Malfoy actually _surfed_! And she did so in her amazing, costly dresses (Grandmother was extremely modest, and would never be caught dead in one of those wetsuits, claiming it showed too much of her curves). She wasn't too terrible at the sport either, though Grandpapa was quite a bit better since he had been doing it for years. The two had an on-going friendly feud, often teasing each other, but it was all in good sport.

"Not bad, Narce," Grandpapa complimented when her score was announced. "You might beat me next year!"

"That's my aim," she remarked, running a towel through her wet hair.

"She could wipe you out if she would lose the dress," Father said, shaking his head at the sorry shape that her clothing was in.

Grandmother smiled. "Everyone finds my fashion quite amusing. Why should I stop now?"

"For a better score?" her husband suggested with a hint of sarcasm.

"Sometimes it's not about winning," Grandmama pointed out. "It's about the _show_."

"Exactly!" Talli agreed, taking Grandmother's hand. "And besides, the judges give her extra points _because_ of her dress!"

After the competition, everyone was allowed in the water. Although Scorpius was pretty tired that day (he still had issues with sleeping), he didn't want to spoil anyone's fun, so he took his board out into the water and paddled out. He had no talent in the sport, losing his balance at just the tiniest wind speed and wave, but it was fun just the same.

By the time dinner came around, he was extremely sleepy, but he sat back, picking at his food and listened to the others talk.

"You know," Mum spoke up to her parents, "since you have immediate family who are magical, you could get a permit for your home so that magic could be cast inside of it without any issues."

"That would be fantastic!" Grandmother agreed. "And then we wouldn't get these blasted letters for casting a simple spell!" She waved a letter she had just received moments ago, which had warned her not to cast magic around Muggles. The Ministry knew that the Grangers had been around magic, but the letters were automatically charmed to be sent and would continue until their home was white-listed.

"Oh, we really should do that, Liam," Grandmama told her husband, and he nodded, promising that they would look into it after the new year.

Scorpius was relieved when it was time to go home, he loved his family, but he had some sleep to catch up on, and he was having difficulties staying awake.

Before he could sleep though, he needed to see how Simon's Christmas went. He was also curious on the reaction that their gift-giving had that morning.

"You would have loved it!" his friend exclaimed. "Everyone was surprised— well except for the Headmistress, but her eyes did light up when her package came, you can tell she hadn't been expecting anything! And Filtch—!" Simon laughed. "I didn't know the man could smile! Or laugh! He simply _adored_ your kitten idea!

"And look what I got—!" He held up a pair of green Herbology gloves. "Well, you probably know about these already," Simon said, shrugging and pulling one on, "but I've never seen a glove do this!" And by 'this' he meant that the glove shrunk down to fit him perfectly. "Edgar said his mum made them for me— wasn't that nice of her?!"

Scorpius smiled at Simon's excitement. He was happy to know that his friend had a good Christmas, and he felt immensely accomplished.

"And thank _you_ for the pin," Simon said, suddenly quiet. He looked down, fiddling with the "Friends are Forever" pin that Scorpius had given him. Scorpius wanted to get him something small and meaningful, and he knew that Simon never had a friend until he met Scorpius.

"You're welcome. Thank you for the malachite powder." Simon had gotten all his friends powder made from stone or crystal, each one chosen specifically according to their personality and goals. He couldn't afford actual stones though, having to settle on the tiny bits of powder.

"One day, I'll get you a real stone," Simon promised. "This will have to do for now. It will strengthen you, Scorpius— according to the Divinations book I read from the library anyway."

"You're interested in Divinations?" Scorpius was surprised to hear this. One needed a bit of faith in order to succeed in the skill; Simon's level of faith was pretty slim.

"A little, I guess. It's something that weird Muggles are into, and it always interested me. Obviously, the Morgans are against anything to do with psychic abilities, so I wasn't permitted to have too much of an interest in it without a proper punishment." Simon hadn't looked up the entire time he had spoken. He scoffed a little. "I can just imagine their response to a school that _teaches_ it. They'd probably think Hogwarts is a cult of some sort."

"Don't worry about them," Scorpius said softly, trying to ignore the sick feeling that was now hitting his stomach.

"Sometimes it's hard not to."

Scorpius understood exactly what Simon was saying, but they still had a few months for Simon's dad to be found. It could be enough time.

And even if he wasn't found, Scorpius intended to keep his promise: one way or another, Simon wasn't going back to those Muggles.

*/*

It was dark, and he was painfully hungry. His shoulders ached from being stuck in one position for far too long. He also had to use the toilet very badly.

He cried out, pleading for help, but his cries were muffled, unable to be heard, and even if someone could hear him, he knew that they would just ignore him.

Scorpius shot up out of bed, whimpering in hysteria, touching his hands to his body. He realized he had only been sleeping, and it wasn't real.

 _It's not real,_ he silently reminded himself over and over until his breathing slowed.

At least it wasn't real for _him_.

He shuddered, cold from sweat and fear, and sat down on the floor, leaning up against the side of his bed.

Sleeping anymore was strictly out of the question, and he was annoyed with having to take several potions everyday to hide his exhaustion from his family so that they wouldn't constantly be worried about him.

Scorpius had gotten the potions from a trip to Diagon Alley to avoid taking from his parents' supply— Mother did a weekly check on their supplies to ensure that they never ran out. She'd noticed a shortage of the potions he was taking and then began to wonder why they were being deplenished.

Scorpius woke up the next morning in a ball on the floor. He assumed that he must have drifted to sleep sometime in the night even though he had fought to stay awake.

During breakfast, Scorpius's school scores came in, showing that he was top in just about all of his classes. Naturally, this made his parents proud.

Unfortunately, he was also having some difficulties in one particular class, and now Mother and Father were aware of it.

"Your Potions grade is what puzzles me," Mother said with a frown.

Scorpius shifted in his seat, preparing himself for a lecture. He had tried his best in Potions, but Professor Lockberry wasn't thoroughly educated in the subject, thus she considered a lot of what Scorpius turned in to be made up.

Father also frowned at the 88 score Scorpius had received in Potions. "You know more about potions than _anyone_ your age; what's the problem?"

Scorpius felt his throat swell up, not liking the reaction he was getting. The disappointed looks from his parents were awful.

He was incredibly annoyed with his substandard teacher, but Scorpius wasn't going to say anything about it. There wasn't anything that could be done with the poor teacher now. They were stuck with her either way, so why start up more trouble?

"Are you having issues with the brewing part?" Mother asked, concerned. "We could help you, although, until you get to the advanced Potions, it's really quite simple, so long as you follow the recipe."

"Scorpius follows directions well, so it can't be that," Father said.

"I… well, I guess I thought I knew so much that I didn't feel the need to study…" It was a lie, but he could think of no other excuse. "Apparently, I was wrong."

Mother crossed her arms over her chest disapprovingly. "You got a little ahead of yourself, that's what you did! You should _always_ study!"

"You know better for next time then," Father advised him, not appearing near as upset as Mother who looked positively annoyed.

"I would never have expected such arrogance from you!" Her voice was high now, and Scorpius decided that he better focus more on his hands than anything, unwilling to upset her more.

"I'm sorry, Mother," he told her truthfully, quiet with emotion. Scorpius was afraid to say much more, unsure if he would be able to without tearing up. He felt awful that his mother was upset with him.

"Hermione, he made a mistake, one that he has plenty of time to recover from," Father spoke up gently. "Remember, these grades don't stick. It's the final exams that matter."

She huffed. "I know, it's just—"

Father cleared his throat, sending her a wordless message. "Moving on, sweetheart.

"An 83 in Flying," he announced evenly a moment later after looking back at the paper.

"That's not too bad, considering he didn't fly until the first lesson," Mother pointed out.

One of Father's eyebrows lifted. "Higher than your first report for Flying then, I assume?"

Mother's cheeks grew a little red. "Quite higher, actually," she admitted in a mumble.

Scorpius was a little disappointed with himself though. It was two off from what he had been aiming for, and 83 was the lowest he had gotten in any of his classes. He kept his eyes on his food, pushing it around on his plate.

"Come on, son," Father said, standing up from his chair.

"What?" Scorpius asked, reluctantly following him out to the hall closet where all the brooms were kept.

"We're going to do what we should have done years ago." Father handed Scorpius a broom and got one out for himself.

"Me too!" Talli called out, running up to them and drawing out her broom from the closet. She had been abnormally quiet during the grade paper assessment. Talli had been under those same lectures quite a few times in her life, so she knew exactly what it was like to be under such pressure.

They then stopped at the door to put on their winter wear (after a reminder from Mother who decided to tag along to watch).

Scorpius had an idea that his father wanted to walk him through the lessons of flying, and he humoured him, showing the man what he had learned at school.

Father made the necessary corrections, explaining things to Scorpius that he had never even heard of— but they made sense, such as: if there was a windy day, make sure to point the broom handle downward a little; it made flying a little easier to do.

"Now, see if you can get the Quaffle past me," he instructed Scorpius, aligning himself at the hoops of their Quidditch pitch.

"Is this some trick to get me to play Quidditch?!" Scorpius knew Father could be sneaky, but he _promised_ he wouldn't bother him about playing!

"No, but it's good training for balance and maneuvering."

Scorpius obliged, though he wasn't excited for it. Being thirty feet up in the air was still quite frightening for him.

"I told you that I'm no good," Scorpius stated flatly when his father had been able to block all five of his shots. It wasn't going to bother him at all when this horrid day finally ended.

"But you didn't lose your balance," his father pointed out, smirking. "You did well. If you remember what I showed you, your flying grade should go up."

"I'll remember," Scorpius assured him.

"I know you tried your best, so I'm going to replace the schools brooms with new ones, despite your current score."

"Really?!"

"Yes."

Wow, maybe this day wasn't so bad after all! Scorpius imagined all the students who were going to be happy riding brand new, _working_ brooms— it brought a huge smile to his face!

"Oh, Father, thank you! I would hug you if I was on solid ground! You're the _best_! Really!"

Father laughed. "Best to keep that kind of thing at the ground level!"

It was a long holiday for Scorpius, but when it was finally over, Scorpius (and the other young Slytherin boys) was greeted by Simon who eagerly waved at him from the steps of the school.

"I actually had more fun than I thought I would," he told the group after they had all exchanged their helloes. "It's _amazing_ what you can do without several hundreds of people around! Sneaking around is so easy to do. And the house elves— they are incredible! Very delightful beings! They gave me all sorts of sweets! I think they felt bad for those of us who didn't go home."

"How was your father during the holiday?" Scorpius asked Edgar when Dallas, Warren and Simon got busy swapping around their new chocolate frog cards that they had accumulated during the holiday. Edgar wasn't a chocolate frog card trader, and Scorpius already owned the ones he cared to have.

"Surprisingly alright," Edgar nodded, approving of his father's attitude. "Yeah... Dad's had enough time to adjust. I'm sure Mum and Uncle Harry had a lot to do with it though. The rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor is not the same now as it used to be."

"Thank Merlin for that." Scorpius hated the idea of being a Slytherin back thirty or so years ago. He probably would have chosen a different house just so he wouldn't be automatically marked evil.

"It must have been hard being a Slytherin right after the war."

"Or even during," Scorpius added. "Imagine… guilty by _association_."

"Yeah…"

"We don't have to worry about that though, thankfully. Things seem pretty smooth in our world."

"All _we_ have to worry about is staying out of detention and mastering our magic."

"And that's enough to deal with. I don't envy our parents' childhood at all!"

"Me neither."

Later, Simon and Scorpius were able to get a moment to talk alone, and Simon questioned Scorpius on what had been keeping him from sleeping during the break.

"Nightmares," Scorpius began to explain, sitting down at a desk after his knees grew weak. "Actually, I think they were more like flashbacks."

"Flashbacks?" Simon was confused. "How can you have nightmarish flashbacks when you've never encountered anything horrific?"

"The flashbacks weren't mine," Scorpius said, looking his friend right in the eye.

"Oh," was all Simon said about it, understanding completely. He tucked his hands into the pockets of his robes uneasily. "Well, what do you suppose we should do? I read something about dreams in that Divinations book. Maybe you're feeling guilty—"

"It's not that. I wasn't having them _before_ I left for Hogwarts."

"No, you slept quite soundly, actually. Peaceful, really."

"Why do you think that is?"

Simon shrugged. "Maybe you could ask the Divinations professor?"

Scorpius shook his head. "I really don't want anyone knowing about this."

"I guess you're right," Simon agreed, sighing. "I honestly don't feel all too comfortable with the thought of people knowing my personal life and history."

"It wasn't my doing! I had no control of it, I swear it!"

"I know, and I'm not blaming you, but if we took this to the Divinations professor, who knows how far this could escalate."

"Pretty far; he'd probably talk to Professor Bulstrode and the Headmistress."

"And then word would get around throughout the entire school." Simon winced at the thought. "It's pointless to get anyone else involved."

"I hope the flashbacks go away," Scorpius wished quietly.

"Maybe they will, but if they're anything like my nightmares, don't count on it."

"What do you do for sleep?"

"Nothing. Nothing works for me."

"You do sleep though. I've seen you do it."

"From pure exhaustion, sunshine, from pure exhaustion. I've found that you don't dream as much that way, so that's fine by me."

Oddly enough, the nightmares did go away that first night back at Hogwarts. It confused Scorpius, but honestly, he was so relieved to have them gone, that he didn't care why they had happened in the first place.

Since returning back from the holiday, Scorpius stayed up with Simon for as long as he could manage, knowing how scary it was to have nightmares. Scorpius wasn't able to hold out like Simon was though. Often, he fell asleep early into the night, but Simon didn't mind either way.

"It's nice to know that someone has my back," Simon murmured sleepily to him one late night when Scorpius had announced that he was about to crash.

The two would wake up sometime in the wee early mornings in the common room. Their housemates assumed that they would fall asleep while they studied their books (and most of the time that was the case).

The professors didn't miss a beat when classes started up again. Everyone had more schoolwork than ever before, as if they had to make up for lost time.

"This is nuts!" Edgar complained as he went through the assignments. "Look at this, a foot long report on vials— _vials_ of all things!"

"That's not hard at all, actually. You can get that easily by just mentioning the three most common ones," Simon informed.

"That's exactly my point though! There are _several_ different ones!"

"Extra credit for writing more than a foot," Scorpius simply pointed out.

"My _finger_ hurts!" Edgar lifted his hand up, showing them the pink bump on his middle finger. "We've been back a _week_ , and it's already blistered!"

"You'll never last fifth year then," an older girl teased him after overhearing Edgar's complaints.

"It's a good thing your father has money," her friend stated. "Sounds like you'll need it!"

"For your information, I scored _99_ in Charms on my last grade report!" Edgar sneered.

"How far do you think that will get you?" the girl asked bluntly. "You can't get _anywhere_ with _just_ Charms."

"It could get me pretty far, considering my dad has made _thousands_ of Galleons _just_ off Charms alone." Edgar grinned triumphantly when the girls left, annoyed by his facts.

"They are right, though," Scorpius told Edgar. "This is nothing like the O.W.L.s. are going to be."

"By then, we'll all have calluses, and it won't even matter," Warren snickered.

Scorpius decided that he was going to mention the two most common of vials (glass and crystal), and then finish the essay off with some info on a rare type called the clurivial.

The clurivial was made by clurichauns (a creature resembling the leprechaun) out of old wine bottles by reshaping and shrinking them down with their magic. It was easier for them to drink their spirits out of that way.

Upon their discovery by wizards though, the vials made from these interesting creatures were valuable in the sense that the brews stored in them would never expire.

The drawback to these special vials was that they were hard to find since clurichauns didn't really trade or sell their belongings unless someone had something that they deemed extremely worthwhile. These creatures were not normally materialists, so most of the vials were given away as gifts should one gain their friendship or trust.

Professor Lockberry had never heard of neither clurichauns or their vials though, and because of this, she gave Scorpius a 75 for his assigned essay.

"Ma'am," Scorpius addressed her after the lesson in which he received the awful grade in. "Would you please explain to me—"

"The poor score on your paper?" she cut him off. Professor Lockberry shuffled through a stack of papers, not even taking a moment to look at him. "25% of your paper is rubbish; Clearichan? What in Merlin's name—"

"It's pronounced _clurichaun_ ," Scorpius corrected firmly. He sucked in a breath and held it in when the professor's eyes rose up and pierced his own.

"I shall not be interrupted, young man," she spoke sternly. "Unless you want a detention that involves cleaning every one of the school's toilets— _with a toothbrush_ — I suggest that you keep your mouth quiet while I'm speaking."

"My apologies," he mumbled.

"Now then, as I was saying, to come up with a fictional creature such as the _clearichan_ …" She paused as if waiting for him to correct her again, but Scorpius remained silent. He wasn't at all too interested in having to clean filthy toilets.

With an approving grunt, she continued, "Makes me believe that you have an overactive imagination— which I'm not completely against, but when it comes to Potions, all make-believe things are left at the door. We have no time for that sort of nonsense—"

Scorpius tuned out her admonition, growing more frustrated with her ignorance by the second. He impatiently waited for her to finish on with her rambling.

' _Clurichauns are real!'_ he thought furiously, trying to keep himself from glaring at her. _You'd know so if only you'd skip down to the library once in a bloody while!_

"—do you understand me, Mr. Granger-Malfoy?"

He placed his hands behind his back when he heard his name being called, attempting to look as boyish as he could. "Yes, I do, Professor."

He honesty had no idea what he was supposed to understand. Scorpius was starting to consider that the Potions master had little value to his learning, and he honestly didn't care about her teachings anymore.

She smiled and appeared to look relieved, puzzling Scorpius with her abnormal reaction. Why would she look at him like that? Why would she be afraid if he said anything differently?

"That's good to hear. Now off you go, child, before you're late for your next period."

Now he wished he had paid more attention to what she had said, but the damage was already done.

He decided to lie low for a while and not question his grades in Potions any further. His father was right after all: his current grade didn't matter at the moment, only the final exam of the year did. By then, Scorpius planned to have a solution to his problem. The only thing he was struggling on was the written part. Perhaps he'd just write something to satisfy her at the appropriate time.

"So?" Simon asked when Scorpius exited the Potions dungeon. He had been faithfully waiting for Scorpius to come out, hoping that he would have good news.

"She's not going to change my grade."

Simon frowned. "I've never met a teacher that knew so little in their subject."

"I only have to hold out until the final exams. I have a few months before I have to worry—" Scorpius stopped abruptly and stared at a group of students who was passing them.

"What's wrong, sunshine?" Simon inquired.

Scorpius stepped back to the wall of the corridor, ensuring to stay out of the way of the passers-by. He clutched his amulet, feeling the heat of it pulse in his palm.

"The amulet's glowing," he informed Simon without taking his eyes off the crowd, intent on learning which one of them was in need of their help.

Simon eagerly watched the scene, curious as to what was going to happen next, having no clue what to do otherwise. This was his first time it had activated while he was in the knowing.

"Come on!" Scorpius gestured for him to follow the group after it had completely passed them. "We've got find out who the person is!"

"What about our DADA lesson?" Simon reminded him of it.

"Forget that!" Scorpius demanded hastily. "Someone needs help!"


	7. Into the Night

"All I see that thing doing is getting us into a whole lot of trouble," Simon whispered. He was currently kneeling down, holding a dustpan in place as Scorpius swept a pile of mess into it.

They had followed the group up two flights of stairs before getting caught by the Arithmancy professor (who was well aware of which class Scorpius and Simon should have been in). The professor immediately sent them to the Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson they had intended to skip.

Scorpius led Simon back down one case of steps just out of the professor's sight and insisted that they wait for the group to finish their Arithmancy lesson so that they could continue to pursue their target.

It was easier said than done. After the Arithmancy class was over, the group must have split off into different directions because the person they had been waiting for didn't come back down. This meant that his or hers next class must have been farther up, and so when the halls were quiet again, Scorpius and Simon went back up the stairs.

They got caught a second time on the sixth floor. And this time it was Professor Bulstrode herself. Neither of the boys knew how she had done it, but somehow, she had climbed four floors without them seeing her. They figured that there must be a secret passageway or something. Nothing else explained it.

The boys received a good scolding, a removal of points, and the detention of cleaning _every_ classroom on that floor— whether it was being used or not!

"I'm very ashamed of you two!" Bulstrode had said, surprised that they would skip two classes in a row for whatever reason. "I have no idea what would make you do such a thing!"

"Maybe it's glitched," Simon continued quietly, dumping the dust ball that had been collected into a trash bin. They were being semi-watched by Filch (he kept drifting off to sleep) and had been forbidden to speak unless it was necessary.

Scorpius didn't respond, not at all listening to Simon's complaints. He was absorbed in his thoughts, trying to come up with a way to find the person who needed help.

They were released for dinner with the order to return to the sixth floor to continue their punishment after the meal. The boys hurried down to the Great Hall, eager to get out of Filch's presence. He was old and slow but still quite frightening.

"You saw the way he cuddled Miss Kettles to his face?"

Scorpius nodded to Simon's question. When the man's attention was on his new kitten, he seemed like a completely different person. "I think he hates people."

"Kids especially," Simon added, taking a seat next to Scorpius at the Slytherin table.

"Nice job, you two," Sally Farley sneered when she seen them. "You lost us 100 house points today!"

"I never thought that you would miss class," Edgar said, sending Sally a look. "What happened?"

"Got lost," Scorpius answered quickly.

"I've done that," Albus admitted. "I've never been docked points for it though."

"And I hear that you have to spend the next _week_ cleaning the classrooms?" Warren questioned.

"With Flich?" Dallas whispered. His eyes flicked toward the old man who was slowly walking past them and creeping his way up to the Heads table.

"We'll manage," Simon assured him confidently. "I've certainly been through worse."

"Give yourself a break, sunshine," Simon murmured to Scorpius a few minutes later when he hadn't even touched his food. "It will be easier to think if you do it on a full stomach."

Scorpius twirled the amulet in his hands, focused on the faint beating of its dim, glowing light.

_Please help me._

Simon leaned toward him. "You still believe it's the amulet that has the power? And not just you?"

Scorpius nodded. "Without a doubt."

"Let me have it then." Simon held out his hand to receive it.

"No, you can't. It's mine!" Scorpius tightened his hold on it, though he had no reason to do it. He knew Simon wouldn't take it from him.

"I'm not going to keep it," his friend said softly. "I just want to see something. I'll walk up and down the aisles and see if it does anything. You can eat your dinner while I do it. You'll need strength for the upcoming cleaning we've got to do. Remember, we still have detention with Filch."

"Maybe I should do it." Scorpius stood up. "It flashes real bright if it's in close range to the person it has chosen."

"Wouldn't it do the same with me— if it _really_ is the amulet that holds the magic?"

Scorpius stared down at his amulet, thinking over Simon's words. "Alright," he decided a moment later. "Please be careful with it! It's priceless!"

Simon cupped his hands together so that Scorpius could place it carefully into his palms. "I know, sunshine, I know. Be back in a few."

Scorpius watched his friend travel down the paths between the house tables, absentmindedly shoveling food into his mouth, not even tasting what he was eating. In some spots, Simon couldn't be seen because some of the older students blocked Scorpius's view, but after a few seconds, Simon would reappear again.

Simon didn't rush it, allowing the amulet plenty of time to activate, but he had no such luck.

"So it's either two things," Simon said when he had returned, handing the amulet back. "It won't work with me or the person's not here."

"Where would they be if not here?"

"I'm not sure… Where would a person in need of help go?"

"It depends on what type of help they need. Like if they are injured—"

"The _infirmary_!" Simon interrupted as it hit him suddenly.

Scorpius eyes widened. "Of _course_! Let's go!" Together, they rushed out of the Great Hall and hurried up to the infirmary tower.

Scorpius quietly stepped into the room, not wanting to alert the mediwitch. She would chase them off if she saw them.

There were only three people in the room though; a girl a little older than them was currently hurling up into a bucket. The gagging sounds made Scorpius's own dinner want to heave. There was another girl sleeping in a bed, undisturbed by the hideous sounds. And lastly, a boy in Scorpius's own year was fidgeting on a bed, appearing to be in a great deal of discomfort. The boy was from Gryffindor, and his name was Roland.

"What's wrong with you?"

Roland turned around on Simon's voice, scratching at his chest. "Net-Nettle bush…!" he burst out, groaning.

"Oh… _that_ …" Scorpius didn't envy him in the slightest. A nettle bush was a plant that spits out a poisonous sap when threatened. The sap contained hundreds of tiny itching and stinging fine hairs. The rash that it caused could spread out in just minutes, and if someone was extremely allergic, it could swell up their throat, making breathing difficult.

"Try not to scratch it," Scorpius advised him firmly. Scratching spread it faster.

"Madam Abbott already warned me, but it's too—"

"Stop that right now!" the mentioned mediwitch hollered, making them all jump. She swept across the room, unscrewing a lid from a jar of Sweet Beet syrup.

"And if the two of you have nothing wrong with you, then I ask that you go back down to the Great Hall," Madam Abbott directed at Scorpius and Simon, applying the syrup to an oozing rash on Roland's arm.

Roland shrieked out in pain. He jerked away from her.

"Shush now, the pain will quickly go away," her tone softened in sympathy. "Now lift up your shirt so I can get your chest."

The person who Scorpius needed to help wasn't in the infirmary, so he and Simon left. "I don't know where they could be at…" Scorpius said glumly. Hogwarts was such a large place. They could be _anywhere_.

Simon looked at his watch. "Well, if we don't make it back to detention, we'll be in even more trouble."

Scorpius didn't want to go to detention though. He wanted to find the person who needed help. "What's the worst they could do to us if we don't go?" he asked, needing a truthful answer.

"They _could_ expel us. If they did that, where do you think I would end up?"

Scorpius understood Simon perfectly: _back at the Morgans._

That was enough to get Scorpius to change his mind. "Okay," he decided, weak from the thought of Simon having to go back to those terrible Muggles. "We'll go to detention then."

But when they were through with that night's detention and instructed to go down to their common room, Scorpius refused to do it.

"Everyone is going to be in their common rooms and dormitories now, Scorpius. You'll never find the person."

Just then, as if to prove Simon wrong, the amulet brightened, flashing faster than it had been.

"This way!" Scorpius gasped, excited to finally have a change in the light's pace. Using it like a compass, Scorpius let the amulet guide him. They passed several doors, climbed down over a hundred steps, and walked on for what felt like miles.

The halls had long ago grew quiet, and Simon announced that they were now out past curfew, but nothing was going to stop Scorpius. He was finally on a lead to whomever needed help, and at the moment, that was the most important thing to him.

Behind them, an echo of someone clearing their throat startled the pair. Quickly, the two boys hid behind a statue of a troll and waited for the person to pass.

It took no time at all to recognize who it was. Professor Williger, the Divinations professor, was easy to spot because of his unique hair which appeared to flow from his scalp in several tight bunches that were called 'locs' (according to Simon).

Besides his hair, Professor Williger was known for his easy going and down-to-Earth personality. There was a rumour going around the school about him; the older students claimed that he used too many "happy" potions which contributed to his laxed disposition. Scorpius didn't really believe that though.

The professor passed on by and rounded a corner before the boys felt it was safe to continue on. They ended up at a pair of exterior doors.

Simon abruptly stopped Scorpius from going any further. "You know what they say what happens out there after dusk."

Scorpius ran a thumb along his amulet. It was warm from the constant glow of its light. He studied the rhythmic pulse, thinking.

He knew Simon was right.

"Someone needs help," he pressed, ignoring the dreadful feeling that was hitting his stomach. He had broken so many rules that day, and Scorpius knew that if they were caught outside they were going to be in a _mountain_ of trouble with their authority figures; teachers _and_ parents both.

Or they could end up in a worse predicament...

"Go down to the common room," Scorpius instructed, pushing against the door to go out. "I'll go alone."

"Like hell!" Simon snapped in a whisper and kept the door from opening. "I'm not letting you go, sunshine; it's dangerous out there!"

"I'm not turning back now." Scorpius told him firmly. "I'm close— I can feel it! Now please, go back!"

Simon wouldn't move out of the way though, and they began fighting over the door with Scorpius pushing against it and Simon pulling.

"It's one thing to get caught after curfew," Simon explained, panting. "But it's another to risk your life—"

"I've got to!" Scorpius pleaded. "Let me through!"

"No!"

Scorpius went limp, leaning against the door, pressing his forehead to the hardness of it. He needed to catch his breath. He was no match against Simon. Simon was more fit for physics than Scorpius was.

"What if it were you, and you needed help? What if the only way you could be saved was with this amulet? And what if someone was acting like a prat by stopping this amulet from getting to you?"

"Prat? I'm not being a prat!"

"Answer me!" Scorpius hissed out in frustration, clenching his teeth. " _What if it was you_?!"

"That's different."

"How so?"

"We're friends, of course nothing should stop you from saving me."

Scorpius spun around, putting his back against the door and crossing his arms. "I'm not saving people because I _know_ them, I'm saving people because I _have_ to."

"You do not. Someone else can do it."

"Who?! Who's going to believe that I know someone is in trouble just because of an amulet—"

"Alright, sunshine, you need to calm down," Simon said carefully, eyeing him over. Scorpius had balled up his fists, and smacked the wood of the door during his outburst.

"How can I?! You still think this is a joke!" Scorpius flung himself from the door and started stalking off. "Don't worry about it! I don't need your help! I'll do this without you and find a different way out!"

"Wait!" Simon hurried after him, and Scorpius spun around to face him, his chest heaving in annoyance. They had a lengthy staring match until Simon finally sighed in defeat. "Alright, have it your way. We'll go outside— but if we get attacked or killed, we'll know whose fault it is."

"Indeed!" Scorpius agreed, eager to get the show back on the road. "Let's go!" He took no time at all and hurled himself out the castle, not allowing Simon the chance to change his mind.

As soon as the door shut behind them, and the light was gone from the lit exit, Scorpius noticed how eerily dark it was outside. The only light available was the one that the amulet put off.

It wasn't enough.

Simon yelped as something flew by them and screeched.

"It was just an owl, tough guy," Scorpius said softly, taking a few steps off toward the right where he knew the path down to the Quidditch Pitch was.

"I hate the night," Simon announced with a shuddering voice. He lit his wand up with the lumos spell and swiped it this way and that, trying to light the night up as best he could.

"Do you hear that?" Scorpius asked in a whisper. Simon bumped into him, unaware that he had stopped walking to hear better.

They stood in silence for a moment, listening. "No," Simon said.

Scorpius continued on after a few more seconds. He swore he had heard something. Something tiny and barely noticeable. Between the sounds of leaves rustling through the wind and birds calling out through the night, he couldn't tell for sure though.

He stopped when he heard it again. Scorpius turned. The flashing of his amulet quickened.

"It's this way."

"What is?" Simon asked.

"The noise."

"I still don't hear anyth—" Simon was cut off by another owl that swooped down between them. "—besides those _bloody_ owls! Do that again, and I'll smack you!" he yelled out to the bird.

"Shhh!" Scorpius squatted down. "I think it's chirping… or… _peeping_ …?"

"Probably a ruddy baby owl— and I thought we were looking for a _human_?"

Scorpius ignored Simon's question and wobbled in his squatting position up to the base of a young maple tree. The 'chirping' stopped immediately as he approached it, and then the amulet went completely dark. The only light now was from Simon's wand.

This greatly interested Simon. He knelt down next to Scorpius, shining his light down at the roots of the tree. "What is it?" he whispered anxiously.

Scorpius was harshly thrown into the tree at that moment, and he felt a sharp pain stab at his shoulders. Something was growling from behind. He screamed out in agony, rolling around helplessly as the creature continued to attack him.

"Get off him, you feathered beast!"

Scorpius cried out when Simon began wrestling the creature off him; it felt like his skin was being torn from him. Scorpius could see Simon's shadow kick at a large bird that was half his size before the thing finally took the hint and flew off.

"Are you okay?" Simon demanded breathlessly, hurrying back over to Scorpius.

Scorpius made to get up from where he lay and sucked in some air. "It hurts terribly bad," he informed his friend, squeezing back tears that threatened to fall from the corners of his eyes.

"We need to get you to the infirmary," Simon told him, gently pulling him up to his feet.

"What about—"

"You're useless to the amulet if you are dead," Simon bluntly told him, placing Scorpius's arm around his neck. "Can you walk?"

Scorpius winced as he made to take a step. "Yes. It just hurts quite a bit."

"You're lucky that's all you got," a new voice said, making the two boys jump a mile from its unexpected presence. "I knew you were going to be trouble the moment my eyes set on you, Mr. Granger-Malfoy."

*/*

It had just been over a week since Scorpius had returned back to school. The holiday had really helped Talli. Right now, she wasn't _too_ lonely, but she wasn't exactly jumping for joy either.

The school she went to for Muggles (and Squibs disguised as Muggles in her case) didn't feel fitting to her anymore. Since Scorpius started his magical education, she had felt empty at her own school.

Talli didn't blame her brother for this. She was aware that this was her issue and hers alone.

After dropping out of Dance Club, she had no Muggle friends. She wasn't dumb. She knew why this was; Talli didn't care to make any new ones, and she had not cared to keep any of her old ones.

Everything had gone sour in her life. Things were changing. She hated changes. Specifically ones that would keep her from seeing her brother— the only one who understood her.

She sat at her desk, gazing outside, tuning out the teacher and dreaming of the times when Scorpius was not yet at Hogwarts, and how he would praise Talli for her skills in flying. It was the _one_ thing she had over him. Even now that he could fly, she was still _loads_ better than him.

It was unfortunate for her that she was a bloody Squib. She wasn't allowed to fly her broom between classes here.

"But I don't have a daddy!" Marissa Johnson's wail pulled Talli from her daydreaming.

"I'm sorry, Miss Johnson, this party is for daddies and daughters only. There's nothing we can do about it. My hands are tied."

Marissa looked about ready to cry. She was really upset that she had been forbidden go to the party with her mum instead.

"I didn't get to go to the baking event, because I didn't have a mum," Kate Newton said to Marissa. "I know how you feel… I'm sorry."

Talli's eyes scanned the room. There was a problem here. Only a third of the class had both their parents. Which meant that there was an event that the school was hosting where over sixty percent of the students wouldn't be allowed to go.

That's not right. It was incredibly unfair! And Talli wasn't going to support it. Not for a single minute!

*/*

"Look what I found." Draco held up a piece of pink and blue paper with white lettering.

"A banquet for fathers and daughters," Hermione said after reading. "How sweet. It's a little short notice though, isn't it? Strange."

Draco frowned in thought. "Three days…"

"Talli's school usually gives a better notice than that."

"Why do you think she didn't tell me about this?" Draco asked the same question Hermione was keeping to herself.

Hermione sighed and pulled a hairbrush through her hair, wincing as it tugged on a knot. "I'm not sure. Talli absolutely loves parties, especially if they include dancing."

Draco sat on the edge of the bed, looking at his wife's reflection in the mirror. "Do you think she's already missing Scorpius that bad again?" His eyes drifted down to the flyer in his hands. "I really thought she was done with that." The man's voice was quiet.

Hermione set the brush on the dresser and walked over to him. She soothingly combed her fingers through his silky hair. "We could ask her," she suggested. "Maybe it's something else."

Draco buried his face into her chest and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Merlin, I just miss my princess…"

Hermione rubbed his back and wondered what she could do to make both her husband and daughter feel better.

The first thing she needed to do was talk to Talli, and hopefully, get an explanation on why she didn't say anything about the school's upcoming banquet.

"What is the rule upon entering the kitchen?" Hermione asked the following morning when Talli came walking into the room.

Talli threw her head back in annoyance. "Nothing will happen, Mum!"

Hermione pointed her finger at the door. "Go put some shoes on." The girl hated shoes (it was difficult to do the random dance in them), but Hermione stuck to the rules for safety: no foot was to be bare in the kitchen.

"Can't you just conjure a pair onto my feet?"

Hermione sipped from her cup of tea, refraining from wrinkling her eyebrows at her snarky daughter. There was no doubt that this child was Draco's.

"You know that I won't, so don't waste any more of our time please," she said, not one to play Talli's games. "Hurry back, I want to speak with you about something."

"I didn't do it!" was Talli's instant response as she raced out of the kitchen to do what her mother ordered..

"You're not in trouble, darling!" Hermione called out, wanting to ensure that she knew that.

"Your father found this in your book bag last night," she said when Talli had returned, setting the flyer onto the table top.

The girl's eyes fell down to it and stayed there. "He really should stay out of my things," she grumbled.

"Just as soon as you learn to clean up after yourself," Hermione countered simply, trying to keep a good level of patience. "If you had emptied out your bag in the first place, he wouldn't have had to."

Talli heaved a dramatic sigh. "I'm not going to that senseless dance."

"And may I ask why not? I thought you liked dances?"

"Not _this_ one."

Hermione frowned, confused. "You don't want to dance with Daddy anymore?"

"It's not _that_!" Talli rolled her eyes and tucked a palm under her chin, propping her head up with her arm. "You would just think that if a school hosted a party, that _everyone_ would get to go!"

"This is a themed party, sweetheart, for fathers and daughters."

"It's just for a _handful_ of students. It singles out people, Mum, and it's a complete waste of money."

"Money? When did you start paying attention to money?"

"Since I learned that you and Daddy financially contribute to the school that I attend— a school that won't let little girls dance with their mothers, simply because they want to stereotype and discriminate against people who aren't lucky enough to have a postcard family! Mummy, there's one girl, Hazel Crickwell, she doesn't have her birth parents, and they won't even let her go with her uncle who's raised her since before she could talk! And that's before I get into the whole 'boys can't go, because they aren't a _girl_ ' rule! It should be a dance for _every_ body!"

Hermione narrowed her eyes, shocked by her daughter's words, amazed by her intuition. Giving it a quick thought, she couldn't help considering Talli's argument about it. There were only a handful of children in the world anymore who had both parents in their life.

"I'll talk to your father then," she said after a few moments of thinking. Her daughter had respectfully gone silent to allow her to process what had just been said. "He was disappointed that you didn't tell him about this dance, but he'll understand once it's been explained."

"So I didn't do anything bad?"

"Not at all, baby. You did something wonderful; you stood up to what you felt was wrong."

Talli smiled and flung herself up from the chair. She circled around the table to give her mother a hug. "Love you, Mum!"

"I love you too, my big baby girl."

"Shouldn't the school be allowed to make these themes the way they want them?" Draco asked reluctantly. He knew better than to argue with Hermione when she had made up her mind, but he felt that creating a stink over something so petty was pointless. "Hogwarts didn't allow anyone younger than fourth year at the Yule Ball—"

"Yes, they did, the younger child just had to be invited by an older one— Ginny was only a third year, and she got to go because Neville had asked her."

"I'm just saying, I don't understand the deal here. So what if they want a father daughter dance?"

"It isn't fair to the boys, they are left out from a school function that parents like _you_ and _I_ fund!"

"And weren't the girls forbidden to go to the Boys Only Sleepover the school hosted last year? No one complained then."

"It didn't single out boys without a father like this one is doing to girls who have no fathers. If you suddenly kicked the bucket, wouldn't you feel bad that Talli couldn't go to this dance with say Harry or Blaise all because they aren't biologically related?"

"In all technicality, Blaise and Potter do have some matching DNA—"

"Draco! There's no time for your smart-ass comments! Are you coming in or not?!" They currently stood right outside of Talli's school. Hermione's hand held the handle of the door, ready to pull it open.

"I guess so," Draco muttered and followed his wife into the building, watching her make quick, irritated strides. The strong clanking of her heels hitting the tile flooring warned anyone who could hear to stay clear.

She was on a mission.


	8. The Mistakes We Make

"You're never going to get it right," Talli stated, lying back onto Vanity's bed. She was incredibly bored with having to watch the other girl repeatedly fail the dance that Vanity had practically begged her to help perfect. Talli wasn't all too interested in teaching the other girl to be better, knowing the full reason behind her wanting to dance, but she reluctantly agreed to help her anyway.

Vanity scrunched up her face in concentration and started over again from the first step. She was determined to get it right.

"Your form is _completely_ off," Talli continued on. "And besides, Scorpius likes to dance in the promenade. You'll never figure _that_ out."

The sound of Vanity's steps went to a halt, and Talli sat back up, wondering what could possibly stop her from her activity.

"Who says I'm doing this for Scorpius?"

Talli rolled her eyes. "It's obvious that you're only doing this because of my brother."

Vanity placed her hands to her hips, insulted. "I would prefer not to look like a horse's tail end the next time I'm invited to a dance— _that's_ why I'm practicing! I was absolutely _awful_ at the last banquet!"

"And you chose the Foxtrot for what reason?" Talli raised her eyebrows, daring Vanity to explain herself.

"I happen to _like_ the Foxtrot."

"And why for?"

"It's…"

" _Yes_ …?" Talli pressed pointedly when Vanity couldn't come up with something quick enough.

Vanity huffed. "I just like it, okay! Now, are you going to help me out, or are you going to just sit there and continue to bash me instead of _showing_ me what I'm doing wrong?!"

Talli sighed. "He's not ready, you know."

Vanity sent Talli a confused look. The girl had a lot of her mother's features, but there were some facial expressions that she had inherited from her father; this was one of them, and it was not one of her best. Her eyebrows came together, looking like one big, fat hairy caterpillar.

"What on Earth are you talking about?"

Talli scooted to the edge of the bed. She was so short, her toes barely touched the ground. "My _brother_ , of course _._ "

"Scorpius isn't ready for what?"

"Girls."

"Girls?"

"Honestly, Vanity, you're not this thick. You know exactly what I'm implying."

"I have no idea what he's ready for or not— and frankly, neither do _you_!"

"I'm his sister, _I_ know _everything_ about him! And I know that he has no interest in girls, especially one who can't even dance something _so_ simple as the _Foxtrot_!"

"Well, good for you then!" Vanity slipped her dance shoes off and quietly walked out of the room, saying nothing more.

"Where are you going?! I thought you wanted to practice?! You can't quit now!"

Vanity didn't make an effort to reply, and Talli wondered if maybe she had opened her mouth a little wider than she should have.

Her inner-guilt said that she had, and she suddenly felt bad for what she said. Scorpius's recent words to her about Vanity clung to mind:

_Vanity is a lovely girl who really has done nothing to no one. What you said about her was really uncalled for and undeserving._

And Scorpius was right (when was he ever wrong?). Vanity really was a nice girl, and Talli shouldn't treat her like that. She really needed to learn to keep her opinions to herself. Her brother would never say anything rude to anyone, especially to someone like Vanity.

Even if he knew that the girl _fantasized_ about marrying him.

Talli wrinkled her nose in disgust. They were all much too young to be thinking about _marriage_. Marriage was supposed to be done by adults. _Mature_ and _ready_ adults.

Putting the horrid thought of her brother marrying aside, Talli leaped off of the bed and went to go find Vanity. "I'm sorry for what I said, Vanity! I really am!"

The hall was empty. Vanity didn't live in an expensive home like Talli did. It wasn't poor or anything, but it was noticeably different. It didn't have magnificent stair runs like hers did or really ancient and priceless furnishing, and it only had two levels, where Talli's had three. So Uncle Greg had been able to hear Talli's words clearly, and when she saw him at the top of the stairs, she knew he had come up to investigate what had gone on.

"Something wrong?"

"Yes, but it's nothing out of the ordinary." She looked at the floor and let loose a heavy sigh. "I ran my mouth off again. Sometimes I wonder if it would just be best if it was spelled shut for the rest of my life. Maybe I wouldn't get into so much trouble then."

Uncle Greg was silent for a few moments. He wasn't good at talking like Daddy or Uncle Harry. He never knew what to say to make people feel better. Daddy said it was because Uncle Greg thought himself to be incapable of solving problems.

Daddy also said that when he and Uncle Greg were boys, he hadn't helped Uncle Greg in the slightest with his confidence. Daddy hadn't been a good friend when he was younger. Talli was beginning to think the same about herself.

Tears welled up in her eyes. She didn't want to be mean like her dad had been. She wanted to be a good friend like he was now.

"I don't know a person alive who has never said something they've not regretted. I don't know what you said to Vanity, but words can hurt people, and sometimes they can pack an awful punch, making them hard to forget."

Talli sniffed. Uncle Greg was not helping her feel better at all!

She felt his large hand touch her shoulder. "You probably don't realize this, but my daughter absolutely idolizes you. Your brother too. She finds you both amazing. I know perfectly well how it feels when your best friend says something cruel about you. And I can only hope that one day you can learn to see how important you are to Vanity; she thinks of you as a sister."

Talli looked up at her uncle in awe. "She does?"

"Well, don't _you_ think of her as a sister? You _are_ godsisters."

"Of course I do, I just never thought that _she_ did. She's never said it before to me."

"You should open your eyes a little more then. You are _brilliant_ person, and I'm exceptionally proud of you, but _sometimes_ you let that cute little mouth of yours sail faster than you can handle. Just remember to consider someone's feelings before you say anything, alright? In most cases, complimenting someone is more important than criticizing them— especially when it comes from someone you think of as family."

Talli nodded. "I'm going to try to change," she promised.

Uncle Greg smiled. "Good girl. Van's gone outside, if you still wish to apologize to her."

"Thanks, Uncle Greg. You're getting better at this talking thing."

He laughed and tapped her shoulder. "I can say the same about you and your complimenting people."

"Hello," Talli said minutes later, approaching Vanity from behind. Vanity was sitting in a swing, twisting around in it silently.

"Now what are you going to make fun of me for?" She lifted her legs up so that the chain could unwind and spin her around in a series of circles.

"I came to say that I'm sorry," Talli informed. "And what I said was completely out of line."

"If it's true, then it's not out of line."

"It's not true though."

"But you said it anyway, so you must believe it."

"Oh!" Talli groaned and inwardly cursed herself for saying stupid things. "I don't believe what I said, I only wanted you to stop crushing on my brother!"

The swing had stopped spinning now, and Vanity was toeing at the dirt beneath her. "You don't have to worry about me. You're right, he'll never like a girl that can't dance." Her voice was barely above a whisper, and Talli could tell that she was fighting not to cry. She pressed her lips together, ashamed for making Vanity upset.

"Scorpius is not that shallow, and you know it! He could care less about a person's talent. In fact, he's told me that you're a very lovely girl."

"You're lying to me now— he could never like me. I'm not pretty or graceful or—"

"That's not true. You have very pretty eyes and _beautiful_ hair!"

"I do not!"

Talli stood in front of her friend and gripped the swing's chains into her fists. Vanity looked up. One single tear slipped from her left eye.

"Coming from me, who has an _ungodly_ mess of hair, I swear on my life that your hair is one to truly be envious of! It naturally shines when the sun hits it, and it has the perfect spring of curls at the end, and it never has split ends— how do you manage that anyway?"

Vanity's face blushed over, not used to the flood of kind words directed at her. "Mummy snips a little off it once a week."

"She's brilliant, I would have never thought to do that.

"Besides your hair, your body is doing things that mine hasn't, and the boys are starting to notice— _including_ my brother."

Vanity looked away, embarrassed to have the subject of her body (specifically her chest region) come up. "I thought he wasn't interested in girls?" she mumbled.

"Well, he's not, but it's kind of hard not to see what's going on. It is quite obvious."

"Would you please not tease me about it?"

"Have I even?"

"No, but I just… I'm… it's weird… I'm the only girl with… that's..." She was too embarrassed to continue.

"What, are you wearing a bra?"

She nodded, uncomfortably shifting her eyes away.

"I won't tease you about it," Talli said. "And I'm going to try my hardest to be nicer to you, because sisters shouldn't discourage one another from something they like. Good sisters support each other, and I'm going to teach you how to dance, and I bet that you'll be almost as good as me in no time!"

Vanity smiled then and wrapped her arms around Talli, squeezing her tightly. "I would greatly appreciate that, sister."

"I'm _very_ sorry for making you cry," Talli told her truthfully, placing her own arms around Vanity.

"I know, and I forgive you!"

*/*

"Ah, Mrs. Granger-Malfoy and Mr. Malfoy," Oliver Stone, Talli's head teacher, greeted, holding out his hand for them to shake one-by-one. "Always a pleasure."

Hermione knew he was lying— they had had their mishaps before. This wasn't the first time she had demanded that they talk.

Eldergreen Children's Academy was an excellent school, but many of their rules were remarkably outdated. Some of them Hermione supported, like the strict dress code (the things children felt they should wear in this current era was exceedingly inappropriate), but Hermione had to come into this man's office at least three times a year over one ignorant thing or another.

She could see it in his face. He was not pleased that she was here yet again. He looked tired— he had already lost the battle before it was even started. He knew it. She knew it. Everyone knew it.

So why he even bothered to fight the war, Hermione wasn't sure. He was persistent though, and she admired that quality about him. Even if he used it in the most obnoxious way possible.

"The Father-daughter dance is a tradition here at Eldergreen. It shall not be changed."

Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw Draco take a seat in one of the provided chairs. He didn't like coming to these meetings, but he insisted on going just the same. That was what a proper father did for his children. He usually wouldn't say much, probably because she could control the reins well on her own, but he'd speak up if he felt the need.

"Do you realize that only three of Talli's classmates are eligible to attend this dance?" she asked the man in charge of her daughter's school.

"As you may already know, your daughter's class is not the only one that's attending."

"But that's under thirty percent of her classroom; I can't help to wonder how few are also eligible in the others?"

"I did not order a headcount, Mrs. Granger-Malfoy, but we can not change a tradition just because one classroom has an abundance of non-traditional families."

Hermione pursed her lips, keeping her annoyance suppressed. "There are many children without traditional fathers, but several of them have wonderful replacements in their life. It should only be right if they can bring them to the dance instead. I know quite a few mothers who have done an _amazing_ job filling in the part of their children's father. If a little girl wants to dance with her single mother then she should be permitted to do so."

"It would not be a father-daughter dance then, and it make little sense to call it that."

"You could call it something else."

"We cannot break tradition."

"Then I suppose we cannot break out our wallet the next time there's a request for donations," Draco spoke up, firm and stiff.

"Oh, honestly, Mr. Malfoy, that wouldn't be fair to the children. It would put a dramatic dampener on their extra curricular activities."

Draco lifted his shoulders up, showing that he didn't care. "I'm sure my wife will start a petition to also encourage others to take their money elsewhere, starting with the parents of those you choose to exclude from this event. I have no doubt that she'll get a _mountain_ of signatures— she's good about that. And then, perhaps all those who sign the petition to stop funding the school, will see no reason to have their children attend this school, and they'll find a new one— all because you couldn't change one lousy _theme_ of a dance."

"Oh my word!" Hermione squeaked once they were out of the building and walking to their apparation point after Stone had declared defeat. "You were _amazing_! And I know how much you love father-daughter dances, so you can imagine how proud I was of you back there!"

Draco put his arm around her waist. "Well, he was being awfully unreasonable. It's just a dance, and it's wrong to exclude over half your student body." He shrugged. "The school needs to get on with the times. Who's traditional anymore anyway?"

"Definitely not the Malfoys!" She hugged him. "We make such an incredible team! I love you _so_ much!"

*/*

"Talongaurds are not a creature to mess with."

"So it seems," Simon said, responding to Professor Williger's statement. He and Scorpius had been escorted back inside the castle by the Divinations professor.

Scorpius didn't add anything. He was shaken up by the attack, and he felt completely horrible for putting Simon in such a terrible predicament.

The two watched each other closely, both immensely worried about the other. Simon carefully studied the professor as he slopped a layer of healing substance with what looked to be a paintbrush onto Scorpius's back. It was black and sticky like tar and smelled just as awful as it too.

Scorpius didn't care about the smell though, since it worked well at taking away his pain. Professor Williger said it was an old remedy used for fowl attacks to stop bleeding, encourage healing and prevent infection. He called it 'sticky tap'. It's main ingredients were tumeric and honey, so Scorpius (having a bit of knowledge about potions) assumed it got its colour from the production process.

He was surprised he had never heard of sticky tap before now, considering both his mother and father were well read. He'd have to mention the substance to them; they would want to know about it.

Scorpius suddenly noticed that something was dripping from Simon's shoulder. "Don't forget my friend too, sir," he said when he realized that Simon was bleeding from a gash. His robes were torn and soaked wet because of it.

"Your wounds are much more pressing at the moment, sunshine."

"Mr. Sirota is correct, Mr. Granger-Malfoy, your entire back is all gnarled up."

"Does it hurt?"

"No," Simon answered Scorpius quickly.

He was lying.

"Please, Professor—" Scorpius made to get up off the bench that he had been directed to lay on so that he could be tended to.

"Nuh-uh, young fella!" Scorpius received a harsh thump on his head with the man's wand. "Madam Abbott will be here in just a few moments. Mr. Sirota shall be fine—"

"What on _Earth_ happened?!" Professor Williger was interrupted by the high voice of the Headmistress. None of them had heard her footsteps before her outburst, having been too absorbed with the problem at hand, but now that they knew she was there, her steps were loud and quick against the stone floor as she approached to the group.

"Ah, Minerva, you're here. Good."

"You sent for me, of course I'm here! Now, someone explain to me why Mr. Granger-Malfoy looks like he's been in an arena with a tiger!" She then saw the blood dripping from Simon and went over to him. "Good heavens! You need to sit down, child!" She guided him to a chair where he reluctantly sat.

"Well?!" Professor McGonagall demanded, casting a spell on Simon's wound to slow the blood flow until the mediwitch arrived. "How did this happen?"

"I went outside," Scorpius announced. "Simon told me not to, but—"

"You went _outside_?!" The woman's lips thinned. "And I doubt you were alone!" She glanced at Simon's shoulder.

"I accompanied him, yes," Simon admitted.

"We have rules for a reason! You could have been _killed_!"

"Yes, ma'am," Scorpius mumbled, unsure of what else to say to that. His heart was still thudding from the close call of that almost being true. His body had been shaking for several minutes now.

"And may I ask what it was that you decided was so important to _risk_ your lives for?"

"I was looking for something… and Simon was helping me."

"It could have waited!"

"No, it couldn't have. It was a pressing matter."

Professor McGonagall sighed deeply and pressed her fingers to the corners of her eyes. "And what was it that you couldn't have waited for?" Her voice was surprisingly calm.

"We were hoping to find a feather from a redwing," Simon spoke up before Scorpius had the chance.

"Something that could have waited until the morning then!"

"Ah, but that wouldn't be too effective…" Professor Williger gave Simon a curious look over as he spoke. "You see, Minerva, legend has it that if found in a ray of the moonlight, redwing feathers are a sign that big changes are coming soon into your life." His eyes were glued to Simon, studying him. The boy uncomfortably looked away.

"Be that as it may, feather hunting is a foolish reason to break a rule and put your lives in danger! One hundred points will be deducted from each of you! I must also alert Professor Bulstrode about your escapade; she shall further your punishment if she feels fit, and I do believe that she will!"

At this time, Madam Abbott finally showed up and immediately started applying some sticky-tap to Simon's gash before declaring them both safe enough to go down to their dorm.

"I'll escort them, Minerva," Professor Williger offered.

"Thank you, Myal. You've been a great help tonight."

"Always a pleasure."

"Have we learned our lesson then, Mr. Granger-Malfoy?" Professor Williger asked when they were once again alone. He helped him up from the bench.

"No good deed goes unpunished?"

The man tilted his head back and forth, processing the phrase. "How about… never go on a search without the proper preparations.

So, where is it?" the professor changed the subject abruptly.

"Where's what?" Simon asked, rubbing his sore shoulder. The wound was now closed, and he was inspecting it, still not yet accustomed to the speeds of healing in this world.

"The thing you found. You told Professor McGonagall that you were looking for a feather, but you had the eyes of a liar, so I know it's not that."

"Eyes of a liar?" Simon wondered.

Williger nodded. "Yours are dim and hollow tunnels— tunnels that I do not wish to explore in. Very frightening tunnels, indeed."

Simon turned away, his body rigid. "Do you still plan to accompany us down to our common room? I'm rather tired."

"I do. Come along." He gestured for them to follow. "What did you collect, if not the feather?" he asked again when they were out of the room and in the corridor.

"Nothing," Scorpius answered. "We didn't have the chance to collect anything before the attack happened."

"Impossible."

"What is impossible?"

"You must have touched something."

"Why would you say that?" Scorpius asked. "It happened exactly like I said."

"It does not explain why the Talonguard attacked you; you found something, and you must have tampered with it."

"No, we didn't!" Simon protested, not liking that they were being called liars after speaking the truth. "We don't even know _who_ it was that we were supposed to be looking for—"

The professor stopped immediately and faced the boys, piercing them with his eyes, flicking them back and forth, from one boy to the other.

"Your eyes do not lie to me this time…" he announced, sounding perplexed. "The tunnels are blocked from my admission."

"No, we're not lying," Scorpius agreed. "We thought we found it, but the attack happened so fast. We had no chance to see who or what it was."

"Did you have any idea of what it could have been? Anything at all?"

Scorpius shook his head. "At first, I thought we were looking for a person, but now I haven't the faintest idea. I only heard chirping."

" _Chirping_ …?"

"Like that of a bird."

"You were being directed… _Guided_ …" the professor whispered astonishedly, musing over the information that had been provided. "That explains a weight load…" He stood there in silence for several seconds, lost in his own thoughts. Then Williger blinked rapidly, as if coming out from a trance.

"Oh, you found something okay," he said. The corner of his mouth stretched out into a sly smile. He turned around and began walking again, talking to himself in incomplete sentences.

Simon and Scorpius occasionally exchanged looks, confused with the man, but when they asked him to clarify what he was saying, all he said was,

"It would not be kind of me to allude you of your fate. In due time, you will discover the path that has been paved for you. Stick to it. Do not stray from its designed route."

Neither of the boys slept well that night. Scorpius was stuck in guilt and deep thought, and Simon was curious to learn more about the Talonguard creature.

"I now know why Professor Williger reacted to our story like he did."

Scorpius didn't request for Simon to go on. He had unusually refused to read the book that Simon had asked a house-elf to retrieve for them since they couldn't afford to get into anymore trouble.

"You're in doubt about how you view life now, aren't you?"

"I put you in a lot of danger, and for what? Nothing! The amulet isn't even glowing! I'm confused; we didn't find anything!"

"Maybe this is a lesson for you."

Scorpius tossed his eyes, irritated. "What, that _you're_ always right?"

Simon grinned. "I like the sound of that, but that's not what I was going to say. What if the amulet is trying to teach you something."

"What could it be teaching me that I don't already know? It lights up, someone needs my help. Simple!"

"Have you ever _really_ saved anyone— an actual _life_?"

"What kind of question is that?"

Simon slowly took in a breath as an effort to keep his patience. Scorpius normally wouldn't talk to him this way, so he knew he was very upset. "Can you just calm down for a moment and give my inquiry a thought? I know you're freaked out right now, but this could be important."

Scorpius sighed and gave his friend a slight nod. He thought about all the trips to Saint Mungo's he had made throughout the years.

"I have helped many people, mostly those who have been through mental trauma, but I can't say any of them had life threatening issues."

"Could that be what the amulet is telling you then?"

"That I don't _save_ people, I just make their lives better? I don't think it's that. That's ridiculous!"

"What if it's saying that you aren't a _slave_ to it—"

"I'm not a _slave_ —"

"I know that, but—"

"But nothing, I _choose_ to help people! It's the right thing to do!"

" _Okay, sunshine_ ," Simon emphasized calmly, attempting to draw Scorpius back into easement. "Listen to me for me moment, would you."

Scorpius's hand went up to his amulet. He held it to his chest, protecting his most valuable possession. "Alright," he permitted softly, "let's hear it then."

"Here's what I believe, and you don't have to agree with it, but I want you to consider what I'm about to say. The amulet could be trying to teach you to know when you have a real emergency to attend to and when the problem can wait until after, say, our classes are done for the day."

"If that was really the case, why wouldn't it just wait until _after_ our lessons are done for the day before even lighting up?"

"You said so yourself that it won't activate unless the subject is in range of it. It may not know who needs your help until it somehow senses the person."

Scorpius looked down at the flaming log in the fireplace across the room. He nodded a few seconds later. "I suppose we could test your theory."

"Cause I'm always right?" Simon teased.

Scorpius gave him a gentle push. "Because you _could_ be right."

"Now, how about these oversized-falcon creatures?" Simon directed him back to the book. "Talongaurds won't attack anything unless what they are guarding is being taken from their duty."

"So we were attacked because we took something."

"But we _didn't_ take anything."

"We could have assisted with it though… Our presence in the field may have triggered the Talonguard inadvertently."

"But what did we touch?"

Scorpius shrugged. He knew the answer as much as Simon did. "Does it say what they usually guard over?"

"Anything," Simon said, having earlier read the chapter. "Talongaurds can be trained by wizards like owls can, meaning someone can assign something for it to guard. The list of what they guard is virtually endless."

"We need to find out what type of Talonguard we're dealing with. What do wild ones guard?"

"The list will be just as long as with trained ones. They will guard anything the individual one deems fit. They are sentimental creatures and often attach themselves to inanimate objects. They will sooner die than have their beloved item taken away."

Scorpius sent Simon an exhausted look. "Then it'll definitely be easier to find out _what_ we allegedly took from the one that attacked us."

"I was thinking that too."


	9. The Katu's Appearance

"Keep your head still, and turn it! Like this!" Talli turned her head to the left, demonstrating for Vanity. "And loosen your face, you shouldn't look like this is causing you any pain or annoyance. You have to keep straight faced, like you're under a spell."

"A spell?" Vanity lost her form completely, breaking free from Talli.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"That's just the way it is— if you want to be an expert. Haven't you watched any professional dancers?"

Vanity's shook her head. "Only you and the people at your parties."

"And do any of us smile when we're dancing this particular dance?"

"Not often, no."

"See then? It's just a really old dance that was created back when smiling might have literally killed someone if they did it."

Talli received a laugh for her joke.

"Alright," Talli immediately went back to her tutoring, "back to work." She snatched Vanity's hands and placed one on her own shoulder, keeping the other in her grip. "No smiling," she reminded the girl, making Vanity grin just the same.

"Ah! I'm dizzy!" Vanity shrieked out a few seconds later when Talli had once again lead her around the dance room that her dad had designed for her.

"Scorpius loves spinning his dance partners, so you best get used to it," Talli informed apathetically. She took her instructing job seriously and wanted to insure that Vanity fully knew what to expect if she was going to religiously dance with her brother.

"He does it slower for me."

"He won't when he realizes that you're really good."

"But I'm not good."

"You will be by the time he sees you again— _if_ you pay attention. Now stop watching your feet, and keep your head _up_!"

*/*

Freedom.

Professor Bulstrode had issued Scorpius and Simon seven days of harsh punishment for their night out of the castle. She had warned the boys that she could have easily expelled them but felt that they deserved an extra chance.

One full week of constant toilet and kitchen cleaning duty. Between that and their lessons, they had very little free time, and any of it that they did have was to be used strictly for studying. They had been forbidden from playing even a _card game_.

House-elves had been assigned to keep an eye on them, as if they were hired nannies. The boys had sneaked out a few times though. One elf in particular was a more laid back one who got along well with Simon. They had managed to talk Rubble into breaking the rules so that they could investigate the field where the Talonguard had attacked them. Unfortunately, nothing had been found, confusing them on what they had done to trigger the attack.

Alas, they were going to spend their first day off their restriction well. There was an unofficial Quidditch match going on that day, and Simon had been itching to try his shot at playing the game. This would be his first time playing the sport, and he was nervous.

"I've seen you fly, you'll do alright," Edgar assured him after Simon had said that he was worried about falling off the broom and making a fool out of himself. "You can be on my team."

Obviously the school's Pitch was occupied by an official school team (Slytherin— they were practicing for their upcoming game against Ravenclaw), but that wasn't going to stop them. Edgar had a plan.

"Port-A-Pitch?" Warren questioned when Edgar said that they would use that instead.

"Yeah, they'll hit the stores right before summer, but Dad gave me one for Christmas because it's totally wicked, and he wanted me to show it off! It's the best gift, I swear!"

Scorpius had already seen Uncle Ron's latest idea in person, so he wasn't as impressed with it as the other students who weren't in the Weasley friendship circle. It was still a unique and amazing invention though.

The Port-A-Pitch consisted of a tiny stack of four cards that were placed at the corners of where one wanted the parameter of the Pitch. Then, with the touch of one's wand to each card, a hologram resembling an actual Pitch was created. Players could walk through the 'poles' of the hoops, and the Port-A-Pitch had no bleachers for easy spectating, but it was going to be a quick and cheap alternative to the real thing that people most importantly could literally take anywhere with them.

Everyone was excited to learn that the product would be available to buy in a few short months, and several students claimed they were going to buy one as soon as they could.

"You going to play your usual position?" Edgar asked Scorpius.

"You know it."

"I thought you don't play Quidditch," Simon challenged, lifting up his eyebrows in question.

"I don't, but I'm often the referee, since I know about every rule to the game."

"I just wish we could play with a better broom," Dallas grumbled, holding out a school's broom.

"At least they're better than what we had at the beginning of the year," Scorpius pointed out. He understood Dallas completely (the school brooms only went so fast and high, they weren't too great for Quidditch playing), but his parents had spent a lot of money on the new brooms, and he appreciated their donation. Using a stable broom had certainly helped Scorpius's confidence when it came to flying. He wasn't acing the class, but he was now scoring in the low 90s.

"Yeah, sorry, I don't mean to sound ungrateful..."

"I know," Scorpius said. "Everyone thinks they're a wonderful improvement, myself included. Training brooms are difficult to play games on— but they're supposed to be like that. They aren't to be used for goofing around on."

"There's always next year," Edgar added. "Sime's on my team," he called out to the crowd of kids who also wanted to play.

The game started soon after with the students deciding that there were enough players to do a Gryffindor-Ravenclaw vs Slytherin-Hufflepuff game.

It wasn't long before Scorpius had to blow a whistle that Edgar had given him to use."Foul! Penalty shot for Slytherin-Hufflepuff!"

"How was that a foul?!" a Gryffindor girl in her third year demanded.

"No kicking people!"

"Since when?!"

"Since I was made the referee!"

She flew down to the ground and jumped off her broom to confront Scorpius angrily. " _This_ isn't Quidditch!" she snapped, getting right into his face. "This game's for _babies_!"

"I'm sorry, but kicking at people's heads is not right, and I don't support it."

"Then I'm not going to play this dumbed-down version of a game!"

"Oh, come on, Mel!" a boy above them called down. "It's no big deal!"

"Come get me when you go to play a _real_ game!" Mel began walking off, her broom swinging along with her stride.

"Good luck getting a game without us!" Dallas shouted. "The real teams are going to hog the Pitch throughout the entire school year!"

Mel spun around, facing them, walking backwards as she retorted, "I'd rather not play then!"

"What a poor loser," someone remarked after all the students were back on solid ground, sulking over the game's outcome.

"Who's going to fill in for Mels?" the assigned captain for Gryffindor-Ravenclaw asked. There was a chorus of volunteers that followed the question.

"No, we have to play with a player down," Lucy Weasley said, citing a rule.

"Oh, come on," Mabel Crowmaster from Hufflepuff spoke up. "Surely, someone else can be allowed to fill-in? This isn't an official game after all."

"Yeah," Franny Dillweed chimed, supporting her friend.

"I suppose we could allow it," Warren said.

"And we know why _you_ think that, don't we?" Dallas elbowed him, speaking about the crush that Warren had on Franny— of which he denied having.

Warren hid his blushing face. "I have no clue what you mean."

"I'll allow an interchange," Scorpius announced, earning mixed opinions on his decision. "You could always restart the game," he reasoned immediately after several of them said substitutes were never allowed in Quidditch. "You guys _do_ want to play, don't you?"

And so they did as he suggested, with the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw team winning in the end.

"Rats!" Albus grumbled after the game as they were trooping back to the castle. "Lucy is a difficult opponent. Next time, we get her on our team."

"Indeed," Dallas agreed. "I wonder why she's not an official Gryffindor player."

"Lucy doesn't like an audience," Edgar explained. "The thought of the entire school watching her every move makes her uneasy."

Scorpius paused his walking long enough to look back at Lucy who had stayed behind to talk with a couple of her friends. He hadn't known that she was so self-conscious about herself. Then again, now that he had given it a thought, she was probably the shyest of all the Weasleys.

The boys made it back down to their dorm to put their things away. It was there that Simon found something on his bed.

"What's this…?"

Scorpius looked across the room in time to see Simon place a book into his lap.

"It's obviously a book." Edgar declared, mildly confused with the question.

"This wasn't here when I left this morning," Simon informed. "Someone else must have put this here." He read the cover out loud, " _Zoomantia: The Search for Their Knowledge."_

The young Slytherins exchanged confused looks.

"Weird title," Warren said.

"It's from Professor Williger," Simon announced flatly. "He's given it to me. He's also left a note."

They all huddled around Simon to read what the professor had written on the inside of the cover.

_Thought you could make good use of this. I normally don't suggest reading out of order (it tends to cause confusion to the reader), but you may find Chapter Three interesting. I know it was for me._

— _Professor Williger_

Simon fanned through the pages, settling on Chapter Three. "Birds," he murmured, narrowing his eyes. "He's a little strange, isn't he; Professor Williger?"

Scorpius shrugged and pulled away from the group. He sat at the end of his bed, slipping off his shoes. "My parents say that most people who study Divinations are strange. Father once joked that being a little off was a requirement to be an expert of the skill."

"I don't like the way he looked at me that night."

"How did he look at you?" Edgar questioned Simon.

Scorpius was curious too. Since he had had his back to Professor Williger that night, he didn't get to witness the look Simon mentioned.

"Well, where I come from, staring at people like they're the most interesting thing on the planet is weird. Muggles would think that he had some creepy motives, but I don't think he's a bad person. I'm just not used to people staring at me. It's uncomfortable."

"It's not normal to stare at people in this world either," Edgar spoke up. "My dad told me that his Divinations professor was just as strange. Maybe Scorpius's parents are right about Diviners."

"They're hardly ever wrong," Scorpius said, speaking about his parents.

Simon closed the book up. He studied the cover of it, appearing to be in thought. "Should I accept this gift?"

"Why not?" Scorpius asked. "Receiving gifts from teachers isn't a terrible thing. Maybe he thinks you have a knack for Divinations; he wouldn't be wrong."

"You _do_ like Divinations," Warren agreed. He had been coaxed into having his future read by Simon dozens of times using Tarot cards. None of the readings were too accurate, but Simon still liked making the attempt.

Simon reopened the book up and returned back to the chapter about birds. "It's intriguing enough," he said after reading a paragraph. "I'll probably keep it."

Warren laughed. "Already a teacher's pet, and you don't even take his class yet!"

It was three weeks of dullness before anything interesting happened again. It started off with a cold night, and for the previous three days, Hogwarts had been shut up inside because of the weather. Everyone was starting to get cabin fever, and the teachers had warned the students that if it had kept snowing, Quidditch would have to be canceled.

Scorpius's mood matched the rest of the school's. He was upset that they still had absolutely no clue as to what the Talonguard had been guarding and why it decided to attack him in the first place. With the horrid weather, he had been forced to put his search on hold.

His amulet hadn't made so much as a flicker since that terrible night either. That hadn't helped him solve a thing. He was beginning to wonder if it was broken.

He had also yet to hear from his grandfather about the search for Simon's father. He was hoping that the man hadn't forgotten about him. Scorpius was going to write to him about it soon.

"Scorpius!"

Scorpius groaned, annoyed to have been shaken awake in the middle of the night. He hadn't had much sleep lately.

"What is it, Simon?" he asked, yawning. "Another night terror?"

"Um, we have a bit of a problem…"

"Yes?" Scorpius prompted him to explain.

"Well, maybe it's just _me_ that's got the problem…"

Scorpius sat up and noticed that his amulet was putting off a light. Finally it did something again, which meant that it wasn't broken like he had been thinking!

Simon now had Scorpius's full attention. He could always sleep later in history class."What is it, tough guy?" he pressed coaxingly, getting his shoes on. They'd have to talk in the common room so they wouldn't disturb the others who were still sleeping.

"I'm afraid to say it," Simon whispered with a quivering voice.

"It's alright. You can tell me. See, the amulet is telling you to."

In the dim light of the shining amulet, Scorpius watched his friend nod. "Okay, I'll tell you when we get to the common room."

In the common room, they sat at the table that they always used. Simon put his Zoomantia book down onto it and dragged his hands through his hair.

"What's the matter?"

"I've seen a lot of new things these last few months, but I'm still not used to everything that goes on in this world. There's a lot of stuff that is just a little too creepy for me to accept."

"Alright…" Scorpius said slowly and waited for him to get to the point. Simon was freaked out, but until he explained what was wrong, Scorpius couldn't help him.

"I was sitting here, reading my book— as usual, I couldn't sleep."

Scorpius nodded knowingly.

"Got all my assignments done, so I figured I'd read more into this book. Something happened though, and I thought it was a trick at first, but Jonas— you remember him, the guy who's always up late studying for his N.E.W.Ts — he didn't see it, and he didn't hear it. So I asked him about it. He told me that he saw nothing! _Nothing_! I don't know what's _wrong_ with me!"

Simon was in a complete frenzy, and Scorpius struggled to understand what he was saying. "What did you see?" he asked for clarification.

Simon's fingers twitched. " _A ghost_ ," he squeaked. He rubbed his chin, his hands were shaking.

"And Jonas didn't see it..."

Simon shook his head. "Only I did. I don't understand, I thought everyone saw ghosts here?! This can't be normal, can it?"

"Where did you see it?"

"On this table." He set his hand on the surface of it. "Right here."

"Where's it now?"

"I don't k-know," Simon stammered.

"What did it look like?"

"It was a bird."

"A bird?"

"Yes, and it flapped its wings and everything!"

Scorpius's suddenly understood what had Simon on the edge. "You saw the ghost of a _bird_?"

"Yeah!"

"That's extremely unusual."

"Do you think it's true?! The book can't be right, can it?"

"I'm… not sure…" Scorpius had never before heard or read the information that the Zoomantia book mentioned, but now that Simon had seen the ghost of a bird, he knew they would have to find out if the book was of fact or fiction.

"It can't be true," Simon said, repeating it over again three times before Scorpius set his hand onto the boy's shoulder to comfort him.

"If it ends up being true, I'll be right here for you. I'll help you through it."

"I come from _Muggles_!" Simon screeched. "I _can't_ do this! I can't handle something like _this_! It's not possible!"

"Aren't there plenty of Muggles in history who have done this before?"

"There's a theory that they come from witch blood."

"And same goes for Muggleborns. There's yet to be any proof for either rumour though."

"I don't like this, Scorpius," Simon stated seriously. "I don't want this, and I'm scared."

"Well, maybe it's just a fabrication published in the book. Maybe you're just a normal boy-wizard, and the book is full of myths."

Simon shook his head. "I don't think it is. I feel it in my bones. It's real. It all adds up. Everything. The amulet, your visions of _my_ nightmares, Williger, this book, the bird—" Simon's eyes widened as something hit him. He threw the book open, hastily searching for a specific page.

" _The Katu is a familiar in the form of a ghost that resembles a bird. It'll reveal itself to its human when the human is ready to accept it as his or her familiar. In order for this to happen, the human must first unearth its hidden location. The human may not see the Katu right away if the Katu is found prematurely, but when the time is right, the two will meet and forever be in each others lives as equals."_

"That's it!" Simon exclaimed. "The Katu was what the Talonguard was protecting! I'm sure of it! That's why you heard chirping! It was the Katu! And that's why we couldn't find what we had been looking for, because the Katu hadn't revealed itself!"

"But why didn't _you_ hear the chirping too that night, and why was _I_ being led to it? The Katu revealed itself to you, not me."

"We were being led to it so that I could find it. _You_ got attacked, remember? You weren't supposed to find the Katu, _I_ was, that's why you got attacked! I only got hurt because I attacked the Talonguard after it clung onto you and started ripping you to shreds! It was fighting in defense at that point! Don't you see, it all makes sense!"

"Wow…" Scorpius breathed out, processing the details. Simon could very well be right. It did add up rather perfectly.

"So where is it now? And if it really is a Katu—"

"It is!" Simon tapped his finger to a picture in the book. "It looks exactly like the illustration! Green with red and black feathers!"

"You probably really are a seer then— _if_ what the book says is true, ghosts of animals only appear to those who possess the sixth sense. And read here," Scorpius pointed to the next paragraph, " _Katus possess the gift of sight, with this ability, they can protect their humans from deathly harm. "_

The two boys looked at each other, communicating without having to say any words. They both knew it was true. Simon felt it, and Scorpius did too. Even though they had absolutely no proof of the claim, they believed it to be fact.

"It explains my like of Divinations," Simon laughed half-jokingly, trying to break the awkward silence.

"But what _type_ of Diviner are you? There's so many different ones out there."

"I guess the Katu will help me discover that. From what I've read, ghost familiars assist their wizard with their powers. "

"I wonder where your Katu is now..."

Simon looked around the room. He shrugged. "I haven't seen it since Jonas claimed he couldn't see it. That's when I went and woke you up. The discovery kind of frightened me."

"Should we look for it?"

"Only I can see it, remember?"

"Maybe I can too. I _heard_ it chirping."

"Well…" Simon gave it a thought. "I guess she'll expose herself again when she feels the need. I don't think I should push her."

"How do you know it's a she?"

"It just came to me as a thought. I know her name too. It's Huldah. I'm sure we share some kind of connection."

They didn't sleep much after that, but by now, it was normal them to stay up most of the night. This was especially true for Simon who miraculously ran strictly on short cat naps throughout the day.

The weather still forecasted snow, so it was announced a fourth day in a row that the school would have yet another day of no outings. It was so cold that they weren't even allowed in the greenhouses (only those in their seventh year and professors could go out there and tend to the plants and creatures that were housed in them).

Herbology had to be studied by book only. This also applied to Astronomy lessons, since cloud cover blocked view to the stars. Quidditch players were growing more frustrated by the day, their time to practise was narrowing.

Everyone was missing the sun. Heck, they were wishing for rain at this point! Anything to be permitted to breathe fresh air!

"Do you want to build a snowman?" a girl in her second year sang out at breakfast, purposely doing it to annoy the boy next to her.

"Let it go, Savannah," he muttered. He must have enjoyed her singing though because they both shared a laugh.

"Scorpius!" Simon hissed, grabbing his arm and making him spill a spoonful oatmeal. Scorpius sighed at the mess and began mopping up the slop with a napkin.

"Look!"

"What is it now—" Scorpius stopped in mid-sentence when he saw a figure hovering over a platter of waffles. It shimmered in the dull haze of the light above them that mocked the dreary atmosphere outside.

It was Huldah!

She was tiny. Huldah was about the size of a parakeet. The book stated that Katus were normally three times bigger than she was..

Her wings blurred with movement as she rapidly flapped them to keep her aloft. She chirped cheerily at Simon who gawked at her in awe. He was no longer afraid of Huldah, instead he was amazed with her existence.

Scorpius stared at the Katu too. He had never seen the ghost of an animal before. It was at this moment that Scorpius felt something different about himself with the appearance of this creature. Something phenomenal. Something new. He wasn't exactly sure what it was, but he knew that it occurred the moment that he set had his eyes on Huldah.

Scorpius couldn't guarantee the Zoomantia book's claim of seeing the ghost of an animal was a sure sign that one was perceptional, but such a claim could certainly explain the sudden feeling of awareness he had.

"What in Merlin's beard are you two staring at?!" Dallas demanded, dragging both Simon and Scorpius's eyes from Huldah's sheen body. The surrounding Slytherins who heard Dallas eyed them over.

"Dust mote," Simon quickly said, jumping up from his seat. "We need to talk, sunshine. Come on!"

Scorpius sent his housemates a smile before getting up and attempting to catch up with Simon who hadn't bothered to wait for Scorpius to respond.

No one saw it, but a ghostly blur trailed behind Scorpius. Huldah chirped happily along, excited to officially meet her companion and his best mate.

As Scorpius and Simon met outside of the Great Hall, she landed on Simon's shoulder, listening to them exchange their thoughts about her presence.

"She spoke to me!" Simon exclaimed. "Did you hear her? She told me that she's been waiting forever for me to find her! Since before I was born!"

"She spoke actual words?"

"Yeah! Didn't you hear her?"

"No. Only chirping."

Huldah twittered quietly from her perch on Simon's shoulder.

"Oh." His voice was quiet, and he frowned. "She says that only I can understand her."

Scorpius nodded, taking in Simon's words.

"Because she's my familiar… and not yours..." Simon was dejected with the news.

"Why is it okay for me to see her then?"

"She says all those who possess the third eye can see her," Simon informed after the Katu made a few more chirps.

Scorpius furrowed his eyebrows. "I have the inner eye?"

"You wouldn't see Huldah if you didn't, but Huldah says she can't help you with your gift; she can only help me with mine."

"Fine morning, isn't it, boys?"

Simon and Scorpius looked up to see Professor Williger standing near them. He let out a chuckle.

"There's a group for people like us. The others have been eager to meet you. Hit me up if you are curious to learn more." He grinned and gave them a wink, then he was gone, having slipped back into the Great Hall.

The boys couldn't tell if he was messing around with them or if he was being truthful about the group he mentioned.

"He knew…" Simon accused of the professor blandly. "He knew about Huldah and everything."

"That explains why he gave you the Zoomantia book."

"And why he was there at the time of the Talonguard attack!"

"Holy fish tails!" Scorpius breathed out in realization. "You're right!"

"I wonder if he knows what kind of Diviners we are."

"There's only one way to find out!" Scorpius snatched Simon's arm and pulled him toward the doors of the Great Hall.


	10. The Meeting

“Where are we?” Simon asked. He and Scorpius were being led by Professor Williger to meet the group of Diviners. They had just stepped into a room and had been quickly swept away by magic, landing in a larger room that was being used for storage.

“We are under the kitchens,” Professor Williger answered. He squeezed into a narrow gap between two rows of shelving.

“Under the kitchens? Weren't we just on the fifth floor?”

“The room must have some sort of portal spell on it when you enter it,” Scorpius assumed.

They watched as Professor Williger pulled a lifesize painting of a Scottish man from the wall, revealing that it had hinges which were connected to the wall.

“Correct, Mr. Granger-Malfoy. It's a magical room that the Hogwarts Castle constructed itself during the Darksides take over in 1998 so that the students could raid the supplies for various of reasons.” As he said this, the professor placed one of his palms to the dank, stone bricks of the wall, and they instantly began to dissolve into a grey dust, making an entrance into a dark pathway.

Professor Williger outstretched his arm and wiggled his fingers, gesturing them to join him. “Come now, Mr. Sirota,” he coaxed when only Scorpius went up to him. “There are people waiting on us.”

Simon stood at the other end of the shelves. He didn't move ahead. Instead, he stepped backwards and looked around disturbingly.

“Oh, my apologies! Your claustrophobia-- slipped my mind, it did. No need to panic, it's more spacious than you think.”

Simon shook his head. “I'm not going through there.” Though his voice was firm, his bottom lip shook while he spoke.

“You’re claustrophobic?” Scorpius asked,  dumbfounded. He had lived with the boy for half a year, spent hours on end with him, and not once had this ever been brought up. Though, Scorpius could understand _why_ Simon would have such an issue with small spaces, it had never occurred to him that he had it.

“Oh, _yeah_ ,” Simon unintentionally squeaked out the word. “ _Very_.”

“How could I have failed to see this…?” Scorpius didn't feel like a good friend at the moment. He felt really bad for missing this fear of his best mate’s.

“Because I haven't had a problem with it here at Hogwarts until just now!” Simon took another step back. “And I refuse to go in there!”

“I'll take care of it.” Professor Williger took his wand out and pointed it at Simon. A purple light shot out the end of it and smacked Simon right in the forehead.

“Wow…” Simon murmured with a dazed look on his face. “I feel… invincible…”

“You've drugged him!” Scorpius proclaimed when Simon did nothing but stare ahead of him with hollow eyes.

“The spell doesn't last for long,” Professor told Scorpius as he walked over to Simon and snatched a hold of the boy’s robes, pulling him toward the wall. “And he’s quite useless for anything while under it, but it makes the sensation of fear numb.”

‘It makes _any_ sensation numb,’ Scorpius noted to himself.

“ _Unhand_ me! I _can_ walk on my _own_ ,” Simon stressed independently, attempting to break free of Professor Williger’s grip. He lost his balance doing so, and Williger caught him before he could fall flat on his face.

“It's apparent that he has a very strong will,” the professor mused with high interest.

“Can we hurry please?” Scorpius pleaded, worried about his friend. “I don't like seeing him this way. It's unpleasant, and I know he's going to hate this once the spell has worn off.”

“He won't even remember this is happening,” Professor Williger assured him in a hushed tone. He let out an amused chuckle before stepping into the darkness that the wall and painting had hidden.

The painting swung closed after Scorpius had stepped through the entrance. The bricks reformed back into their shapes and replaced themselves, ceasing up the hole that Professor Williger had made.

Lights then formed magically along the underground tunnel, looking similar to white fairy lights. Scorpius couldn't see too far ahead.

They walked for about twenty minutes before the tunnel ended at a wooden door. Professor Williger had to unlock it with a spell of which he taught Scorpius how to do.

“This is a secret place only for those of us who possess the inner eye,” he explained firmly. “No individual can pass unless they have the skill.”

“Alright,” Scorpius noted. He tapped at Simon’s back, hoping that he would respond to what had been said. Simon hummed out, seemingly delighted with what was going on.

“Don't you worry, your friend will be back to normal in just a few moments.”

Professor Williger helped Simon through the door, speaking softly to the boy. “There you go, young man. You got this. That’s it, just a few more steps, and you're good.”

They had entered into what looked like a living room with several chairs, a sofa, and oddly enough, a Muggle’s television.

“Jacky!” a woman’s voice shrieked out highly, making Scorpius jump. “They’re here! Wyal’s here, and so are the kits!”

The woman who had announced their arrival came waddling in (she was huge and round) and before Scorpius could react, she took him into a hug, giggling excessively. “Scorpius Granger-Malfoy! It's such a pleasure!” she said, squeezing Scorpius tightly and swaying his head in her arms. “You are more adorable in person!”

“Ah, Tilda, you're smothering the boy! He's a Slytherin, remember-- most of us don't like physical affection, especially from strangers!”

Tilda released him instantly. “Oh, dear child, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?” She touched a hand to her chubby cheek, clicking her tongue, disapproving of herself. “Oh, you look just like your father!”

Scorpius took a deep breath from just having his breathing constricted and politely smiled. “Yes,” he said, taking a seat next to Simon on the sofa where Williger had guided him to sit. “People tell me that often, but I got my mother’s thumbs!” He held them up, showing the ninety degree angle that he could position his interphalangeal knuckles in.

“Aww, you're just as sweet as they say you are too!” Tilda goggled over him.

“Tilda has been following you since they first announced your birth in _The Daily Prophet_ ,” the man who Scorpius assumed was Jacky informed.

“The moment I saw your first picture, I said, ‘Oi, Jacky! This baby is going to be someone magnificent’-- I’m a photovisionary, that means I can look at a picture and see things that others can't.”

“Are we there yet,” Simon murmured disorientedly. He placed a hand up to his head. “Ugh, I feel like I've been knocked out!”

“And a pleasure to meet you, Simon Sirota,” Jacky, tall and dark haired, bent over and extended his hand out to Simon.

“Uhm, who are you now?” he asked, hesitant on taking Jacky’s hand.

“Jack Frank, and this giddy woman here is my wife, Tilda.”

“And you're Diviners then, Mr. Frank?” Simon asked slowly as the man flipped his hand over and started inspecting his palm, tracing a finger over the lines of it.

“Ah, now, son,” Jacky said as he continued to study Simon’s hand, “there shall be no addressing me as ‘Mr. Frank’, we are all friends here. You call me Jacky.”

“Okay… can I have my hand back now, Jacky?”

Jacky looked up. His face was serious. He stood straight up and cleared his throat, shifting his eyes to meet with Williger’s. Professor Williger nodded a response.

“If you'll excuse us, we need to step out just for a few minutes,” Jacky said apologetically. “Tilda, would you mind fixing the lads up with some hot chocolate while we wait for the others?”

“I would love to!” And as Professor Williger and Jacky exited the room, Tilda conjured up several mugs of hot cocoa and biscuits.

“So Jacky reads palms,” Simon announced, staring down at the hand that had just been expected moments earlier.

“And Tilda’s inner eye is presented through photos,” Scorpius informed.

“Any photo, new, old, coloured, black and white, you name it,” Tilda supplied.

“What if it's not of a human?” Scorpius asked curiously.

“I still see things of whatever the picture was of.”

“Does it play like a film?” Simon took a mug that Scorpius held out from him, and he waited for Tilda to answer his question before sipping at it.

“They are like dreams,” she began explaining. “Not all are clear, just like dreams, but some are very vivid, as if I'm right there in the moment.”

“How did you come to the realization that you had a gift?”

Tilda smiled. “Oh, I've _always_ known. Since I was a little girl, it's always been this way for me.”

Scorpius leaned forward, anxious to learn more. “Do you know what kind of Diviners we are?”

“Myal does, and he has said a few things about you two, but it is up to the Diviner himself to discover his true gift. If we told you, your ability would instantly disappear.”

“What kind of Diviner is Professor Williger?” Simon asked.

Tilda giggled. Scorpius thought she sounded like the iconic mascot from a telly commercial of a dough company. “Oh, Myal is a work of art,” she said, sighing over the subject. “But if he hasn't told you yet, he is obviously not ready to, and we should respect his decision.”

“That's fair,” Scorpius agreed, and Simon nodded, though Scorpius knew that his friend was craving to know.

Someone entered the room then, a woman dressed in black with long, sleek black hair.  “Good afternoon, I'm sorry zat I'm late,” the woman greeted in a mild accent, taking off her coat. “Zee boys are here; good.” She advanced toward them, grabbing a biscuit off the plate. “Nice to meet you. I'm Hanna Polok.” Her skin was a strange greyish pale tone, Scorpius had never seen such sickly looking skin before.

“Nice to meet you too, um… Mrs…I mean Miss, uh--”

“Hanna, Scorpius; just Hanna.”

“Hanna.” He dropped his eyes to the sweet liquid in his mug, not wanting to stare anymore at her skin.

Tilda giggled. “I bet your bottom dollar that he's never called a stranger by their first name! He was raised well, weren't you Scorpius?"

“Yes, I was,” he answered.

“And how about you, Simon?” Hanna directed.

“How about what?”

“Is it odd for you to call people by zeir first names?”

Simon shrugged. He hadn't met many people until he started attending Hogwarts. “I just call people by the name they tell me to. I wasn't raised like Scorpius was.” He said no more about that, tapping his fingers to his mug and also looking into his mug.

“Hello, Hanna!” Professor Williger said as he and Jacky came back into the room.

“Hi, zere! You're looking nice today, Myal,” she teased, pinching his overly colourful robes. “It's screaming with fazion.”

“Oh, what do you know about fashion, you wear flip-flops!”

“Zey’re comforzable!” she argued. “So where’s zee Kuda, she suddenly asked, as if it just shot into her head.”

“You mean Huldah?” Simon asked at the mentioning of the Kuda.

“Yes, Myal said zat he saw her yesterday, and zat she belongs to you! I haven't met anyone who has a ghost familiar, it's very intriguing.”

“I have not seen her since last night. She said that she's searching for something now, but she doesn't know what.”

“She's just a wee baby,” Williger informed the others, “cute as a button.”

“A _baby_ Kuda?” a woman whispered.

They all turned toward the new voice and saw that the woman was old, with thin, messy, curly, grey hair and thick, buggy glasses.

“Sybill, what brings you here?” Jacky asked, surprised to see her. “You never attend our gatherings.”

Sybill Trelawney approached the group. “The smoke told me to come today, and so I did. Never not do what the smoke says. Your lungs will fill up with it, and you could die of smoke inhalation. It is a horrid way to die!”

Hanna discreetly rolled her eyes, showing her opinion of Trelawney’s statement. “Zank you for the warning. Zis is why I don't use smoke for retrieving my answers.”

“Smoke is one of the most accurate ways to ask questions,” Sybill countered.

“So about the ghost,” Hanna changed the topic before an argument could break out.

“Oh yes, the baby Kuda.” Sybill took the bait. “Having one of them as a familiar is a big responsibility. Baby ghosts are newly formed souls. They have never had a physical body or life, they have yet to earn their way towards one, and you’re the one who will help her do it. But if she fails you-- or if _you_ fail _her_ \--she will spend another fifty years as a ghost.”

Suddenly, the weight of the world felt like it was on Simon’s shoulders. He had a big responsibility, and he wasn't sure how to fulfill it.

“I would stray away from sharp knives, if I were you, dying too early will curse her.” Sybill carried on. Then she gasped out in horror. “And _that_ boy!” She pointed at Scorpius, her arm was shaking in fright. “Stay away from that boy! He is no good for you!”

“Oookay!” Professor sang out. “That concludes our meeting. Thank you, Sybill, it's always a pleasure having you.”

“Keep away from him,” Sybill stressed out to Simon seriously.

Professor Williger got the boys their coats and a series of goodbyes were exchanged before they were ushered out. Simon went to ask what Sybill had meant, but Professor Williger quickly charmed him with a spell to keep his claustrophobia from causing a panic attack.

Scorpius was quiet for a while as they walked back to the storage room. “What did she mean back there?” he finally asked, unable to keep the question inside for any longer. “Does she think that I'll hurt my friend?”

“Sybill is a unique Diviner.”

“I'd never hurt anyone,” Scorpius said confidently. “Mother thought Trelawney was nuts back when she was a girl. I don't mean to be rash, but I can't help agreeing…”

How could she believe that Scorpius would hurt anyone? All he did was try to help people when they had a problem.

Professor Williger chuckled. “She is quite a fruitcake, but she is good at her profession.”

“But… I can’t… I _won't_ hurt him, Professor!”

Williger stopped walking and turned to face Scorpius. “Listen to me, Mr. Granger-Malfoy, Sybill exaggerates most of her sightings. I wouldn't worry too much about it, okay?”

He nodded. “Alright,” Scorpius said quietly. And he was fine for a bit until the memory of the Talonguard popped into his head. Was it possible that Scorpius was a bad influence on Simon, and that he could end up leading his friend into another dangerous scenario? One that could ultimately take his life too soon?

Scorpius would have to be a lot more careful from here on out. For Simon’s sake. He didn't know what he would do if something happened to Simon.

“I don't care what she says,” Simon asserted later that night when they were discussing it. “I'm not going to stop being your friend.”

Scorpius smiled at Simon’s loyalty. “I don't want to stop being your friend either, but this could be a serious thing.”

“And it's something that we can address when the time comes. Why stress about it now, even if we hated each other, we’re still kind of stuck together, being in the same dorm and all.”

“You have a point.”

“Friends stick it out to the end, through thick and thin, and I intend to have you right next to me the entire time.”

“Same here, mate!” Scorpius said, setting a hand to his friend’s shoulder.”

“So, Jacky reads palms,” Simon diverted the topic.

“And Tilda gets visions from photographs.”

“That leads Williger and Hanna.”

“ _And_ us.”

“I just hope I don't end up weird like Trelawney.” Simon scrunched up his face.

“Well, Williger isn't so normal either.”

“And it's kind of creepy for someone to study your hands too,” Simon spoke about Jacky.

“I'm sort of nervous,” Scorpius admitted quietly. “My parents don't think greatly of Diviners. Mother especially.”

“Oh, sunshine, your mum and dad absolutely adore you. You don't have any reason to worry.”

Scorpius fiddled with his fingers.”Do you know how many Divinations books we have? Not many. A handful, maybe ten.”

“So what, they'll buy you some to add to your library. You're fretting for nothing.”

“I sure hope you are right.”

“Of course I am. Remember, I'm _always_ right.”

Just the same, Scorpius decided that he wouldn't let his parents know about his newly discovered ability. At least not until he knew specifically what it was.

*/*

“Oh, Daddy!” Talli shrieked. “You're not going to let him stay there, are you?” He had just read Scorpius’s letter to home, and she had tears in her eyes at the thought of him not coming home for Easter.

“Daddy and I will have to talk about it, sweety,” Mum told her.

“But I just _have_ to see him! Please don't let him stay!”

“That's not your decision, Talitha,” Daddy said firmly. “Go up to your room now, please.This isn't about you.”

Talli stuck her lip out in a pout and crossed her arms. She ran up to her room and slammed the door. She was upset that Scorpius didn't want to come home to his family and instead, he wanted to spend the holiday with his friend.

Talli didn't understand why. He always valued family time, so why stay at bloody Hogwarts! She _hated_ that dumb school for taking her brother away!

She threw a pillow at the door, not realizing that it was opening just then.

“ _Oof_!” Vanity moaned out, getting blasted in the face with it.

“Sorry!” Talli spat as Vanity and Lily came in. She had momentarily forgotten that they were coming over that day so that Vanity could practice dancing. Lily was going to watch.

“What's got a hold of your tail, kitten?” Lily asked, picking up the fallen pillow.

“Scorpius doesn't want to come home for Easter!”

“He doesn't…?” Vanity frowned. Talli hadn't been the only one anticipating his return. “Why?”

“He says he wants to stay there with stupid _Simon_!”

“Well, if Scorpius wants to be around him, I doubt he’s stupid,” Lily pointed out.

“Yeah,” Vanity agreed. “But why doesn't Simon go home to his own family?”

“Simon doesn't have a family. He lives with Muggles who are fostering him, and they don't like him much.”

Lily shifted her feet uncomfortably. “Maybe you could see if Simon can come here instead.”

Talli shook her head. “They won't let him. Scorpius says that a permission slip has to be filled for him to go outside of Hogwarts, they won't do anything for him. They believe that magic is the work of the devil--”

Vanity gasped, horrified. “The _devil_ …?” she squeaked.

“Yeah, because Simon is a wizard and can do _magical_ , _unexplainable_ things-- they don't want anything to do with his ‘evilness’.”

The girls were quiet for a few moments.

“My dad had kind of the same experience,” Lily said softly. “Maybe Scorpius doesn't want Simon to be alone.”

“But I _miss_ him!

“I know, but you got your mum and dad, and grandparents. It sounds like Simon doesn't have anyone. Family is very important to my dad. He always tells me and my brothers that he never wants us to feel alone. I always thought it was because he had no decent family of his own growing up.”

Talli sulked. She realized what Lily was saying, but she _really_ wanted to see Scorpius too!

“So I guess we’re not dancing today?” Vanity asked, noting Talli’s mood.

Talli hurled herself onto her bed. “No! I don't feel like doing anything now!”

*/*

The Easter holiday didn't go well for Scorpius. It started off having to leave Simon behind yet again, and he had felt guilty that his friend had no place to go.

“Oh, sunshine, you can use the mirror if you end up missing me that much!” Simon told him after receiving a pitiful look from Scorpius over having to leave.

And so Scorpius did-- though Simon initiated some of the calls too. They talked for at least an hour at a time, and this upset Talli who wanted to play games with him and stated that he had the entire school year to be with Simon, now it was time to be with his _family_ (as she stressed).

“Well, you don’t have to be rude about it,” he scolded her, though Scorpius could see her point. They had been so close until he had started his schooling, and now Talli was jealous, feeling left out of his life.

Scorpius made to pay more attention to his little sister, mildly distracted over the thought of Simon having no one to talk to.

Then the nightmares started again, making him afraid to go to sleep. He was afraid to shut off the lights, and he was scared that he'd wake up to a damp bed, like what would sometimes happen to Simon after he woke from a nightmare. If that happened to Scorpius, what would his parents think? Would they think something was wrong with him?

‘ _Is_ there something wrong with me?’ he wondered to himself, thinking about the nightmares he was having. Or could it be that his inner sight was telling him something? But if that was the case, he was confused because what he was seeing was part of the past, and not the future.

“Are you aright, Scorpy?” Mother asked him, interrupting his thoughts. She swept back the hair from his face since he had yet to groom it, and it was abnormally messy.

Father peeked over _The Daily Prophet_ that he was reading. “How oddly familiar,” he noted, eyeing Scorpius physical state of appearance. “I refused to dress up for breakfast too when I returned from Hogwarts. It positively drove my parents bananas, but they permitted me to be in my night clothes until eight, after that, I was to be dressed and ready for the day.”

“Scorpius would never be sloppy for no reason,” Talli said. “Something is bothering him.”

“I'm fine,” he quickly assured them when they all looked at him with deep concern. He spooned some oatmeal into his mouth, attempting to show that he had an appetite-- which was far from the truth, but it did seem to work on them, if just a little.

“You have to be presentable for everything at school. Since I have a moment of freedom, I thought I would use it.”

“You of all people like a strict schedule and organization,” Talli countered, not exactly believing his excuse.

“It's different when you don't get to decide for yourself.”

“That's the understatement of the year!” Father laughed, earning a smile from Mother. “Take all the freedom you can get, chomper, as you get older, the amount gets smaller and smaller.”

Scorpius used any reason he could to keep from having to go to bed that night, but by eleven, everyone (Talli included) was ready to sleep.

“Sorry, baby, but Mummy can't stay awake any longer,” Mother said through a yawn and placed her hand of cards on the coffee table that they were sitting at. “It's sweet that you miss us so much though!”

Father gathered the discarded playing cards. “We’ll play again tomorrow, alright, son?”

Scorpius reluctantly climbed the stairs after them, and they all said their tired goodnights.He stood alone in his room seconds later, peering around at the quietness. He went over to his nightstand and grabbed the mirror.

“Hey, sunshine,” Simon greeted when Scorpius called on him. “Got bored, huh?”

“It's too quiet,” Scorpius explained. “And well, you know… I'm scared that I'll have another nightmare.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“I got a Divinations book while we were out today,” Scorpius informed.

“How did you get that past your parents?”

“I charmed it,” Scorpius answered indifferently.

“What's it cover?”

“All kinds of things, from rock placement to the waves in the water.”

“Anything about palm reading?”

“I’ll go check!” Scorpius set down the mirror to go search the book and see if there was a section on palm readings. “There is! A full chapter! Shall I read it to you?”

“That would be wonderful, sunshine.” Simon got himself comfortable on his bed, ready to listen to Scorpius’s reading. This wasn't the first time one of them had read to the other during their many nights of staying awake.

*/*

_Scorpius followed the sound of a muffled plea for help. He could feel that the person was having difficulties breathing, their mouth full of something._

_“I'm coming!” he cried out, struggling on getting to them. His legs were getting heavy, feeling as if his feet were being glued down to the grass he was walking on._

_There was a house behind him. In front, a fence bordered off the yard he was in. Dogs barked off in the distance, and cars drove by, full of people who were unaware of what was happening just feet from them right in their own neighborhood._

_Scorpius finally reached the dirt mound that he was looking for. He began digging with just his hands, trembling all the while._

_“I'm here,” he announced. “I'm here!”_

_Then he saw a tiny red trainer with white laces. It was caked with filth like the rest of the clothing that the helpless boy wore._

“Simon!” Scorpius shrieked out, panicstricken. He leaped out of bed, desperate to talk to his mate.

* * *

_**AN: Hey, guys, I made a cover for this story! :)** _

 


	11. To the Rescue

“Simon?!” Scorpius shook the mirror, but it wouldn't light up. It didn't so much as make a sound. Simon wasn't answering Scorpius’s mirror call.

Scorpius’s breathing got quicker. He ran out of his room and continued to try and contact his friend using the device. “Simon! Please, answer me! Simon!”

He lost his footing about three quarters down the case of steps that led to the first floor of his home. Scorpius fell the rest of the way.

At the bottom, he bit his lip from the pain of the harsh impact that each stair had made. He stood up, wincing. His ankle hurt terribly.

He limped to the flooing room in a hurry and tumbled down at the base of the fireplace. Scorpius floo-called the Slytherin fireplace and stuck his head into the flames.

“Simon! Are you here?” _Please be here!_ he prayed silently to himself.

“Scorpius?” The body of a student knelt down to talk to him. It was a girl from third year. Her name was Becky Wrung. “Are you looking for Sirota?”

“Yes! Have you seen him?!”

“Not since before he went to bed. What's the emergency?”

“Would you go up to our dorm and see if he’ll answer?” he asked, having no time for further explanation. “It's important!”

“I don't know if I should…” she thought out. “I'm not supposed to go back there in the boys section…”

“Are you a Slytherin or a Hufflepuff?! Go get one of the prefects then! Just please hurry! This is a matter of life or death!”

She stood up, and within the split of a second, Becky was gone. It tortured Scorpius to sit there and wait for any news concerning his friend. His face began to sweat, and he could feel the sores from his fall intensifying. The position he was kneeling quickly grew uncomfortable.

“Scorpius, sweety, what's wrong?”

Unintentionally, Scorpius whipped around to see his parents standing in the room with him, looking worried, each one was tired-eyed in their bathrobes.

“I'll explain later,” he said, realizing that he had ended the floo-call when he had pulled his head out of the floo.

“Becky? _BECKY_?!”

“He’s not there,” she informed. “Derrick just checked. They are about to start a search in the castle for him.”

“He's not in the castle,” Scorpius said, somehow knowing. “I don't know where he is, but he's not in the castle.” He took his head out of the fireplace, devastated.

“Mother, Father,” his voice cracked with a great amount of emotion, “my best mate’s missing…”

*/*

“You can't go out there,” Mother stated after Scorpius had been made to wait until the Hogwarts staff reported that Simon was officially missing. The Ministry had been notified to take the matter further. “Scorpius, he could be anywhere.”

“Please, I've got to find him! He’s hurt, or-or _worse_!”

“Sweety, you can't possibly know that for sure.”

“Do you even where he could have went?” Father asked. “Did he recently mention about going anywhere?”

Scorpius shook his head. “He tells me everything, Father. He never said anything about leaving, and he doesn't usually like going out after dark! The last time we spoke was after you sent me to bed. I called upon him to see how he was doing. I don't know why he didn't say anything to me before he left!”

Mother was silent with thought. “Do you have an object that belongs to him?”

Scorpius shrugged, and he took a moment to think of anything that he could possibly have that was Simon’s. He knew where she was going with this, but if he didn't have what was needed, it wasn't going to work. “I'll go look in my trunk! Maybe something got put in there!”

“Be careful!” Father warned as Scorpius raced up the stairs. Mother had just fixed his sprained ankle, neither of them wanted him to hurt himself all over again.

Up in his room, Scorpius threw open his trunk. Being it was the holiday, it was fairly empty, but he had left a few things in there that wasn't needed outside school. Such as notebooks and worksheets, pencils and quills. Everything was neatly in order-- until he got there and scattered things about in his anguish.

But with luck, his eyes settled on one single Tarot card. Scorpius faintly remembered Simon flipping a card through a hand the day that he was packing for home. Scorpius turned the card over to look at the face of it.

_The Devil_

Scorpius hadn't been paying Simon or Dallas much attention at the time, too engrossed in making sure he didn't forget something, but he faintly recalled the verbal exchange his friends had made:

_“And now for your future…” Dallas said. He was Tarot reading for Simon this time, which Simon didn't often allow, but Dallas had threatened not to be his guinea pig next time Simon asked to read for him, so he reluctantly permitted Dallas, claiming that it was just to humour the both of them. “The… Devil…” Dallas announced slowly, having not expected that specific card._

_“Well?” Simon impatiently pushed Dallas to go on after he was quiet for a few seconds._

_“Um… This one kind of threw me in for a loop.”_

_Simon snatched it from him. “And_ this _is why you shouldn't be reading the Tarots!”_

 _“It's just for fun, Sime. Chill out, mate! I haven't mastered it like_ you _have!”_

_“Which is why I didn't want you doing this in the first place.”_

Scorpius wasn't sure how the card got into his trunk, but at the moment, it didn't matter. It was going to help Simon be found, and he couldn't be anymore relieved over finding it!

“I've got something!” Scorpius announced when he returned to the lower level of the house.

Mother took the card from him and gave it a look over. “This will work.”

“Your amulet is lit up,” Father noted when he saw it.

“Yes…” Scorpius gripped it into his hand. He thought about telling him why, but now wasn't the time for a conversation.

“We should get ready,” Mother told Father. “The spell won't allow us time to grab our things.”

Father nodded and went to the coat closet for their outer robes and brooms.

“I'm going too!” Scorpius said, approaching his father, ready to take his own.

“Oh, sweety,” Mother crooned. “It's four in the morning. You need to stay here.”

“I'm _not_ staying!” he insisted. “I can help! Simon _needs_ me!”

“It would be best if you stayed here, chomper,” Father agreed after sharing a look with Mother.

“But I can't sit here and do nothing! I'll just worry! Please! Look!” He held up his hands, using them as a last resort to persuade them. “I haven't anymore nails to chew off! What can I do just sitting here, worried to the pits?!”

“Scorpius…!” Mother scolded him forgivingly when she saw that he was bleeding in some places where his nails had been chewed off. She took his hands and cast a spell, relieving him of his sores.

“It might not hurt to let him come,” Father considered. “The boy may respond better if he sees someone he knows.”

Mother hummed in thought. “You’re right, but it's so late...”

“I’ll stay by your side the whole time!” Scorpius promised, slipping his hand into his mother's, hoping that his touch would help make her decision in his favour. “I wouldn't want to get lost myself! And anyway, dawn will rise in a couple of hours.”

She smiled down at his hand. “Alright,” Mother decided a few seconds later, after thinking it over, “you may come.”

“Oh, _thank_ you, Mother!” He hugged her with pure gratitude. “I just _know_ we’ll find him!”

“Toogy will watch Talli for the Master and Hermione,” the house elf announced behind them. She too had been unable to sleep with the knowledge of a missing child out there on his own.

“Thank you, Toogy, you are a doll,” Mother told her.

“Alright, the tracking spell will work better if we activate it where Simon started at,” Father suggested.

“I'll ask Minerva if it'll be okay if we come to Hogwarts. I'm sure she won't mind a bit.”

Permission was immediately granted for Hermione Granger-Malfoy, Minerva McGonagall’s all-time favourite student. Officials from the Ministry were also there, asking questions that really had no answers.

Scorpius and his parents were continuously stopped along their walk to the dorm room where Simon was last known to be.

“I'm terribly sorry, but we’re trying to find the boy ourselves,” Mother said, squeezing through a crowd that had formed. Some students even held out their text books for her to sign. “I'll have to see about doing this later, finding Simon Sirota is my main concern.”

“What nerve,” Scorpius grumbled, disgruntled by their lack of care for his missing friend.

“Some people are really selfish,” his mother said.

In the dorm, Father took no time in pouring a tracker potion onto Simon’s Tarot card. A wavering, unidentifiable shape rose from where the card lay on Simon’s cabinet. It was bright yellow and fluorescent, easy to see even in a fog. They squinted their eyes at the brightness, but had no time to do anything more before the shape floated out of the room, tracing Simon’s steps as if it were a well trained bloodhound.

“Come on!” Mother said, hurrying after it, having to once again address the crowd of fans.

It led them outside, and Scorpius’s little heart began pounding against his chest. This had been the same door that he and Simon went out the night of the Talonguard attack. The memories of what happened (or rather, what had _almost_ happened) sent shivers down his back.

The fluorescent blob thing didn't go out toward the same field as the boys had though. It turned right, where the Forbidden Forest was located.

Upon this occurrence, Scorpius heard his father’s breathing deepen, and Mother’s steps got a little more quicker, but they all stopped in mild surprise when the blob of light slipped under the earth at the base of a tree.

_The Whomping Willow_

The tree sensed their presence, and its limbs began to shake in anticipation. They were just out of its reach, and it seemed to know this.

“Better than the forest,” Mother stated evenly, taking her wand and using it to pick up a rock. “Draco, shine a lumos at the trunk of it; I'll need some light.”

He did as she instructed, and Mother adjusted his arm to point where she needed the light: at a big, fat lump on the trunk near the ground.

“When the tree stops moving, run for the base of it, there will be an opening at the ground to crawl in.”

Father and Scorpius nodded and watched as she threw the rock with a spell, hitting the lump, and when the tree stopped shaking, they all ran to it.

“You first,” Mother told Scorpius, and he slipped underground, landing in a tunnel.

“Simon wouldn't come down here,” Scorpius told his parents once they were by his side and the tree had shifted back over the opening. “He's claustrophobic.”

“Well, chomper, the tracer says he's been here.”

“Hurry!” Mother pointed at the fading light that was well ahead of them.

They got to it just in time before it disappeared into the wall of the earth.

“That's strange,” Mother said. “There's no door or anything here.” She then cast a few spells, attempting to break though. “It's a secret passage that's warded off,” she announced a few seconds later.

“Because you can't make an indentation?” Scorpius asked, wondering how she would know.

“Right.”

“What are we going to do now?” Scorpius tried not to sound upset, but they really needed to find Simon.

His amulet then shined brighter, glistening as if it was reflecting a light off it. He gripped it into his hand and took a few seconds to see if it would tell him anything. He waited for his gut to stir, an indication that he had an answer to his problem.

The amulet darkened, and all was black except for Father’s lit wand which had been dimmed down a little from the beam he had used above ground. Then it lit up again, but this time, only a very small part of it, and the light shined on the ground, right at the foot of the dirt wall that they had stopped at.

“An X,” Father mused.

Scorpius got down on his hands and knees. He snatched a rock and dug an X into the dirt. He stood back up and took off his amulet, pointing the light of it at the mark he had made, causing it to glow brighter.

The wall right behind the X began to crumble away, making a path along the way. Eager to find his friend, Scorpius followed the still forming path with his parents closely behind him.

He replaced the amulet safety around his neck, smiling. He knew they were going to find Simon now.

It was a long travel, but the path finally ended at a small, closed-off room with an old case of four thick, wooden stairs that led up to a pair of old fashioned cellar doors.

The family crawled out of the hole and found themselves in a yard surrounded by overgrown, dried out foliage. The sun was just peeking out from a line of trees.

The light of the tracer spell was nowhere in sight.

“Well, we weren't fast enough to catch up to the spell,” Father grumbled. “Either it faded or it's out of our sight completely.”

“Maybe Simon went into that house!” Mother spoke about the three-level home that was a few hundred yards away. She mounted her broom and took off in a flash.

Father swung onto his own broom, and pulled Scorpius on behind him. “Hold on tight!” The broom was jerked into flight, taking no time to catch up to Mother. The high speed caused Scorpius to shiver from the cold wind.

As they approached the house, they saw that it had long ago been abandoned, and it was falling apart. Windows were filthy, and doors had rotted off their hinges. There were all kinds of possessions in and around it though, as if the family who had last lived it in just up and left and never returned.

Scorpius saw a flash out of the corner of his eye, and then he heard something. A chirping sound.

“Huldah!” he exclaimed when she circled around him and his father. Scorpius jumped off his father’s broom. “He's over here, Mother! Come on! Hurry!” Scorpius followed the Katu, looping halfway around the house to a broken down deck. Mother and Father were closely behind him on their brooms.

Huldah sank down into the pile of rubbish, and Scorpius climbed in after her.

“Scorpius!” His father caught a hold of him before he could get further into the mess. “It's too dangerous!” Father said, setting the boy back onto solid ground.

“But--”

“No buts, chomper. Who knows what's in there.” Father carefully went into the mess on his own while Scorpius and his mother waited anxiously for any news.

They heard him grunt after a bit, and Mother asked if he was okay.

“I'm fine!” he called up. “Move back away, I need to clear some of this rubbish out of my way!”

Mother pulled Scorpius back with her, and she alerted Father when they were out of his way. Rotting boards, planter pots, and a porch swing floated up from the pile that Father was in. They were tossed off to the side of the mess.

“Do you need help, dear?” Mother asked, leaning forward in her spot, trying to get a better look.

He didn't answer, and she took a step closer, getting ready to ask again, but she stopped as something rose up above the caved-in porch.

A body.

“Simon!” Scorpius gasped out, and both he and Mother hurried over to help. Mother conjured up a stretcher, and Scorpius waited until Simon was in his reach.

“I've got him, Draco!” Mother alerted Father who couldn't see the boy anymore because of the depth of the hole he was in. “You can release him!”

“Alright, I'm doing it now!”

Mother used her wand and set Simon onto the stretcher. Scorpius immediately took his friend’s hand, finding it cold. “What were you thinking?!” he demanded to the unconscious boy.

“He's alive!” Mother announced, heavily relieved to discover this.

“I know,” Scorpius breathed out, finally at ease with his search. A green light fluttered out of Scorpius’s amulet and surrounded Simon, providing him some much needed heat.

Simon stirred awake, and he smiled. “I knew you'd be the one to find me, sunshine.”

“You'll be alright now, tough guy,” Scorpius told him. “You need your rest though. We'll have to talk about how dumb you were later.”

Simon nodded. He sighed deeply before his eyes closed again.

*/*

Talli stopped by the bathroom on her way down to the kitchen for breakfast. She had heard whispering and was curious what her parents would be talking about that they didn't want to be heard. Maybe they were discussing her upcoming birthday.

She pressed an ear against the door in order to hear better, but a faint cracking sound prevented her from making out any distinct words. Talli frowned, realizing that it was a spell to block out eavesdropping.

She set both hands to the door. _Too bad I can't just cast a spell and cancel it_ , she thought as the tips of her fingers turned numb from the pressure she applied to the door. She rubbed her hands together to introduce circulation back into them.

Talli sighed. Looking down at her hands, she turned around to walk away.

“He can't find out what we know,” her mum’s whispering voice was barely heard out from her location in the bathroom. “It would probably upset him dearly.”

Talli looked at the door, finding it still in the closed position. The spell must have worn off. She took no time at all to put her ear against the door again not wanting to miss a single thing.

“I've already called the Ministry! This is just terrible!” Mother continued.

“You didn't see what I did,” Dad said, sounding incredibly upset. “I haven't seen anything like it in years. Especially on a _child_.”

“I can't imagine being eleven and having to go through any of that!”

“I'm sure it happened well before he was eleven, sweetheart.”

Mum gasped. “You're right! Oh! That _poor_ boy! Scorpius said that those Muggles weren't nice to him, but this is beyond _not_ _nice_! This is _criminal_! This is _inhuman_! And I'm going to make sure they get what they deserve!”

Talli quickly made a dash for her bedroom after hearing Mum start for the exit of the bathroom.

“Hermione, wait!” Dad went to stop her as the door flew open. “You can’t just--”

“Don't tell me what I can't do!” she snapped, shaking his hand off her shoulder. “Those people are horrid! And to think, they claim to follow _God_!” Mum spat out in derision. Her voice was still in a whisper, but anyone on the second floor could have easily heard her.

Talli didn't need to wonder anymore about who they were discussing. The religious remark was a dead giveaway.

They were talking about Simon, Scorpius’s friend.

Those horrible Muggles had done terrible things to him, to the point where he had markings of their abuse on his body.

But how did Mum and Dad know this? Simon was at Hogwarts.

Her question was answered a short time later when she stepped into the kitchen and saw a boy a little taller than her brother sitting at the table.

Sitting in _her_ spot. _Her_ spot next to _her_ brother.

She loosened her clenched fists, remembering that this boy in front of her with his back to her had been horribly mistreated by the people who were supposed to love him.

 _I guess he can have my chair…_ Talli decided reluctantly.

“Good morning,” she announced her presence, slipping into the empty chair on the other side of Scorpius. “Care to officially introduce me to your friend, Scorpius?”

“Simon Sirota, Talitha Granger-Malfoy,” Scorpius simply introduced the two and took a bite of his oatmeal.

“Nice to finally meet you,” Talli said politely, noticing that both boys looked extremely tired.

“You too.”

“And may I ask why Simon is allowed to stay with us all of a sudden?”

“I got a lead on my missing father,” Simon started. “Turned out to be a dead end though. I fell through an old, rickety deck, and broke my arm, so I was stuck there. Your brother found me, and your parents got me out of there. They're upstairs now, discussing my fate as we speak.”

“Well, welcome to our home then, Simon,” Talli said eyeing him over. He was wearing one of Scorpius’s robes, and it covered everything except for his chin, head, and hands. Underneath all that covering, he had enough marks of damage to upset her dad, but outwardly, he appeared completely normal. She would never have known otherwise if she hadn't been snooping around.

No one deserved such cruelty. Even if Simon did annoy the bloody hell out of her for hogging up all of her brother’s time. Talli felt bad for him, but she went on pretending that she didn't know anything about his misfortune. If he had wanted everyone to know, she figured he would have said something by now.

She wondered if Scorpius knew. Talli examined her brother as he ate his breakfast and decided that he probably did know of Simon’s ‘home’ life. Scorpius was exceedingly intuitive, and hardly anything got past him. It was likely why he spent so much time with Simon.

And here Talli had been jealous of Simon these past few months. She struggled with eating the remainder of her toast. Talli was far from jealous now. She wouldn't trade places with him for anything.

*/*

“Good morning, Mrs. Granger,”

“You conveniently forgot the _Malfoy_ part of my name, Mr. Warrington-- you _will_ address me by it.”

“Mrs. Granger- _Malfoy_ ,” Cassius Warrington gave Hermione a loathsome look. “ _You_ called _me_ in on a _holiday_ ; this best be important.” The Pureblood wizard was still caught in old times and was one of a select few who couldn't get over the fact that she was now part of the Malfoy family. “Why don't you have a seat so we can get started?”

“No, I’m fine with standing.” She could tell it annoyed him for doing it, nonetheless, he took a seat behind his desk and leaned back into his chair, gesturing her with a hand to begin.

“An underaged Muggleborn is being severely abused, I want you to see about relocating him.”

He rolled his eyes. “This is out of my hands, and you know this, Mrs. Granger- _Malfoy_ \--”

“Alright, now you're just being an arse, like it or not, I'm a Malfoy, so suck it up. You're an adult, my personal life has nothing to do with you. A _child_ needs immediate help! You _can_ relocate him, you just don't want to even try because he's Muggleborn!”

Warrington burst out laughing. “It's always because of that, isn't it?” He dramatically waved his hands in the air. “ _Oh, he’s a Mudblood_ \--”

Hermione stiffened at the word.

“-- _you don't want to do help him because he’s Mudblood!_ ”

“Stop using that disgusting word!”

“It’s not because he's Muggleborn, you stupid bimbo, I'd do the same if he was Pureblood.” He stood up, amused that she had gasped at his insult. “It's because I just don't _want_ to. This is a _desk_ job; I don't do any _field_ work! But if you wish to pin me as a bigot, who am I to argue with the most famous witch of them all?”

“So you’re just a down and out _tool_! You don't care about anyone but yourself!”

He smirked, contented with pissing her off.“And proud of it!”

“Your job is to help Muggleborns through their transitioning, if you don't do it, someone else is going to replace you!”

Warrington laughed. “I've been here for ten years, Mrs. Granger-Malfoy. It's an elective position, and I've ran unopposed since the beginning. Do you know how few Muggleborns there are discovered every year? A handful. No one else wants this job. It is dead _boring_ , which is why I even ran to take it in the first place. ”

“Not _one_ soul wants your job?” she challenged with a lift of her eyebrows.

“Don't be ridiculous, you're far too busy saving the lives of helpless creatures than to keep tabs on overly emotional Muggleborns.”

“You may want to start looking for work, Warrington.”


	12. Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a while, I apologize. Life is changing, hehe! :) I got a new puppy, and Grandma has a kitten now, and I've been on a new diet (LCHF), so I've been busy, busy, busy!
> 
> Hope you all had a good season! Halloween is coming up shortly, woo! Who's psyched? Speaking of which, did anyone watch that new Chucky (Child's Play) movie? LOVED it!

"I found it! I found it!" Louis Weasley cheered out in excitement, holding up a golden plastic egg. He received a chorus of both groans and cheers; cheers from his teammates and groans from his opposing team.

This was how Easter was celebrated at the Weasleys: an enormous Easter egg hunt where everyone who participated in the search was divided off into two teams. They spent the day trying to find eggs that had been hidden by the adults. The golden egg being the most important (it promised a shopping spree at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes to the team who found it).

All the hunters were then told to gather around the picnic tables to 'hatch' their eggs and see what prizes were inside them.

Candies that had been charmed began to come to life. Gummy worms wiggled, chocolate frogs leapt in every direction, and spiders made of pretzels scurried away.

The children darted after their treats, many of them squealing with excitement.

"I've never been to a wizard shop before," Simon announced, studying a toy owl that had been in one of his eggs. It waddled across the table top, flapping its wings, and bumped into one of Talli's chocolate candies.

Talli, Edgar, Scorpius, Lily and Simon were all at the same table, each fiddling with their own Easter egg loot.

"Didn't you go shopping in Diagon Alley for your school supplies?" Lily asked.

Simon shook his head. He reached across the table to retrieve his toy. "The man that came by had to do it all for me. The Morgans didn't want me going with a stranger."

"I guess that makes sense," Lily said.

Talli found that to be strange though. If they were already so cruel to Simon, why would they care if he went off with a stranger?

"So you didn't get to pick out _anything_ you currently own?" Edgar asked in disbelief.

Simon gave his head a small shake. "Nope."

"It's a good thing your team won the shopping tickets then! You'll love my dad's shop! There's _lots_ of candy!"

"And useful trinkets," Lily added. "Like Thinking Caps and Remembralls."

"And don't forget prank toys!" Louis chimed in, stopping by the table when he overheard them talking about his dad's shop. "It's great!"

Simon didn't express his feelings about it either way. That was one thing Talli noticed about him. He didn't get very excited over many things.

Talli's parents took them all to Uncle Ron and Uncle George's shop the next day so that Scorpius and Simon could cash in their tickets (Talli had been on the other team, so she didn't get any tickets).

Scorpius was nice and let Simon have all of his so that he had double the amount of tickets to use. Simon objected to this at first, but lost the argument after Scorpius said that he already had gotten to try everything unlike Simon had.

So Simon spent the next thirty minutes browsing through the entire shop, wanting to see everything before he made his choice.

He finally settled on a mood ring, a deck of Tarot cards, a Slytherin themed wizard chess set (Edgar was always teasing him by saying no one was a real wizard until they had their own wizards chess set) and several treats to share with Scorpius and Talli.

Talli decided that she liked having Simon around. Not only was he thoughtful, but he liked flying, and that meant that she had someone to race brooms with. She of course won every race, but it was still nice to have someone there to do it with.

He stayed throughout the entire holiday, and when it was time to see him go back to Hogwarts, she felt a pain in her chest. She wondered when she would see him again. She had no doubt that her parents would keep him from having to go back to those retched Muggles, but where would he end up then?

Talli stopped waving when she could no longer see either her brother and Simon. "We should just adopt him," she blurted out the thought as it came to her.

The looks she got from her parents with that were priceless. She had shocked them, and they weren't sure what to say. Talli could tell they were trying to communicate with each other silently through facial expressions, but they didn't know how to read each other's minds, so it was a pointless thing to do.

"Sweetheart, Simon has a family." Mum said it so forcibly, Talli could practically hear her body tense up.

"I know his real story."

"And what is his real story?" Dad asked, pretending like he knew nothing.

Talli rolled her eyes. She stopped walking and stamped her foot irritability, setting her hands to her hips. They were no longer at the train station where they had saw the boys off, but they still had to travel to a safe house so that they could floo home.

"Don't play dumb, Daddy!" she scolded. "I overheard you and Mum talking! He has been badly abused!"

Mum and Dad went back to looking at each other, attempting to once again communicate without her being part of their conversation.

"I also know that you're going to stop him from going back there.

"I like Simon," she told them. "Scorpius likes him, and you like him, and he likes us too— let's just adopt him."

Mum's eyes reddened up. "Oh, Talli!" Her arms squeezed around the tiny girl, and Talli hugged her mother back.

Talli wasn't dumb, she knew it wouldn't be easy for them to adopt Simon, but those people were not his family, and they didn't want him, but Talli's family did, and they were rich; the Muggles would _have_ to let them have him.

"Those people are not his parents," Talli stated, pulling away from Mum. "They are just foster parents. We _could_ adopt him, and we could be his _real_ family."

Dad's hand set onto her shoulder firmly, and he gave it a squeeze. "We're working on getting him a new home, princess."

Talli could tell that her dad chose those words specifically.

They weren't going to adopt Simon.

*/*

Potions was Scorpius's least favourite subject, and it had nothing to do with the brewing involved. Professor Lockberry was an absolute nightmare. Not only was she a terrible teacher, she had an awful attitude to boot.

And as each day passed, she seemed to get worse.

By May, students from all years were complaining about her, but there was nothing they could do. The school year was nearly finished, so they were stuck with her.

Scorpius's grade hadn't improved. With every paper that he turned in, she had to find something wrong with it. It was frustrating since he knew his mistakes weren't real, and that she just made them up.

"I can't help to think that she's purposely trying to fail you," Edgar had noted quietly upon seeing Scorpius helplessly stare at his most recent grade.

But Scorpius wasn't the only one having this issue. Several students began to voice their exasperation over Professor Lockberry who found any made-up excuse to grade them poorly.

"Oi." Albus approached the first years at the Slytherin table one Saturday morning. "We're having a meeting," he announced, speaking about the Slytherins who would occasionally group up and talk about a problem the house was having. Most of the time it was to help the younger house mates adapt to life away from home, and sometimes the elder students needed some assistance with their O. and N.E.W.Ts , but with all the smack talk that was floating around about Professor Lockberry, and the fact that the last two Slytherin meetings were about the professor specifically, Scorpius was sure what the topic that night was going to be.

It was completely packed in the Slytherin common room later at the meeting. Pretty much every house member was there. Scorpius felt like a sardine. He couldn't move in his place, bunched up between Simon and Dallas.

He also couldn't see above Edgar's head, who had grown taller over the past few months, but then again, Edgar complained that he couldn't see through fourth year Xander Mason's head either, so they were all having difficulties.

Everyone went quiet all at once (a seventh year had cast a silencing spell on the room, allowing only the Prefects to speak), and Yolanda Hanson (their eldest female prefect) began to talk.

"The entire school is now noticing the problem with Lockberry—"

"Bloody well took them long enough!"

"Shush, Wallace!"

"I'm just saying, how obvious does it have to be before—"

"Let's just move on! We don't want to be here all night!"

Wallace grumbled a foul insult before Yolanda continued.

"The other houses have agreed with our idea of creating inter-house study groups. We have some of the best brewers in the school, and they know it— Hufflepuff especially."

"We're not here to dissect a house's intellect," Prissy Gandar snipped. She had a boyfriend in Hufflepuff and was easily insulted when the Slytherins would make wisecracks about their intelligence.

"The statistics are there, Priss," Wallace pointed out. "Hufflepuff only manages to get a handful of students in all of the Advanced Potions classes."

"That's because they have little interest in using it as a career!"

"We didn't come here to fight about Hufflepuff," Yolanda demanded, taking back control. "Now, for anyone who has been a target to Lockberry's inexcusable, sabotaging teaching methods and wants to get a _real_ grade, you may sign-up using the paper that I have set up on the table behind me. We will be having a daily study group with the other houses and help them with their Potions grade as we agreed to do two weeks ago at the last Slytherin meeting. There are two forms to choose from. One is for the student who would like some help with Potions, and the other is for the student who would like to tutor students who are struggling in the class. You have until Monday to sign-up. Study groups start this Wednesday."

"I'm not quite sure how this study group idea is going to help when she's unfairly giving bad grades," Edgar said as the five Slytherin boys entered their dormitory after the meeting was over. "Her grades aren't going to change just because we study harder, not if she's already doing what she wants anyway."

"They're trying to prepare us for the end of the year tests," Simon explained. "With Lockberry's bizarre scoring, most of us really have no idea what our real grade should be— and I suspect that there's going to be a lot of failing first years with her teaching skills."

"It's the students who know a lot about Potions who are mostly affected," Scorpius noted.

His statement had been proven right at the following meeting for the study group. All those who were previously top students in Potions now only had a top average score of 74, which was only a few points more than the students who naturally weren't so good in Potions.

This angered the students who formerly had top marks. And rightfully so. They worked hard for their accomplishments, and what Lockberry was doing to them wasn't fair!

Some of the the elder students spoke to the Headmistress about it, but Professor McGonagall said that Lockberry was allowed to teach her own way so long as it wasn't abusive. She reminded them that some professors were more strict with their grading than others, including herself.

"You know it's the amount of NEWTs you get that matter in the end. Stop fretting, you'll do just fine." That was what she had told a seventh year Gryffindor.

"Well, if she won't listen to a Gryffindor, she isn't going to listen to any of us," Wallace said with finality. "We'll just have to ace those NEWTs on our own."

"We'll help each other," Molly said encouragingly. "Well, I mean with the OWLs , I'm not doing the NEWTs yet."

"She's real good at Charms though," an older girl from Ravenclaw spoke fondly of Molly. "She knows so many spells that Hogwarts doesn't even teach."

"I sure do! I can help there!"

"Alright, but it isn't our Charms teacher who is sabotaging our grades," Yolanda pointed out.

"We'll keep that in mind though, thank you Weasley," Travis Doodleberg from Hufflepuff added.

Mid-May, and Scorpius was struggling. He was worried about Simon mostly, but the added stress of the Potions dilemma wasn't helping. He had promised to help several students ranging from first to third year, and that took a lot of time, but he didn't think it was right for them to fail because of one lousy teacher.

Besides tutoring, Scorpius was working on a spell that Molly had taught him. He had to perfect it. It was important that he did. Now that Mother and Father were involved with Simon, he knew they were trying all that they could to help him, but Scorpius wasn't taking any chances. He had an alternative plan just in case.

He just had to master the shrinking spell first!

"Come _on_ , Scorp!" Edgar pulled at his sleeve, cutting off Scorpius's concentration. "We'll be late for Potions!"

A spark shot out of Scorpius's wand and hit Dallas's pillow. It disappeared altogether.

"Oh, that can't be good," Simon mused, looking over at the spot where the pillow had been.

Thankfully, Dallas wasn't in the room then. Scorpius had no clue how he would have reacted if he had been.

Scorpius put his own pillow in place of it for the time being until he could figure out how to get the other one back.

They then all trudged up to the Potions dungeon where Lockberry instantly scolded them for their two minute tardiness. She sat them up at the front of the room, separate from the rest of the class— this was where the 'bad' students were supposed to sit.

"Yes, Miss Water?"

Scorpius looked up five minutes later when he heard Lockberry permit Eloisa Water to speak. He wasn't the only one to do it; usually Potions was quiet except for the scribbling of quills and shuffling of paper.

"The information about moondew on the black board is incorrect."

The entire class was now looking at the information that Lockberry had written down. She had written down that moondew was a product of a full moon that could be found the morning after.

It was indeed wrong.

A boy laughed. Scorpius nearly shook his head at Lockberry's ignorance. It was no surprise to him.

"Mr. Donaldston, detention this Friday night," Lockberry snarled, catching the boy who laughed.

Several students' eyes dropped back down to their papers, not wanting to be next.

"Moondew is not associated with the moon whatsoever," Eloisa continued, when Lockberry didn't make a comment about her statement. "It's only called 'moon' because of its bright colour of which glows in the dark."

Professor Lockberry stiffened. "Where are you sitting, Miss Water?" she demanded calmly.

"In a chair," the girl responded slowly, unsure of where Lockberry was going to go with this.

"In a classroom, yes?"

Eloisa nodded.

"And who is the professor?"

"You, ma'am."

"Exactly. You're the student. You have no authority, no education to attempt to declare that my knowledge is inaccurate. You are just a child. An adolescent. You know so very little. That is why I'm here: to teach you things that you don't know. Is there anything confusing with that, dear?"

Eloisa shook her head.

"Good. Back to work then." Lockberry let out a satisfied sigh when Eloisa bent her head down low, hiding her face from the professor.

"No." Scorpius abruptly stood up.

"Excuse me?" Lockberry had difficulties concealing her surprise.

"Eloisa is right, what you've written up there is absolutely wrong."

"It is most certainly not, Mr Granger-Malfoy!" Her eyes flashed in fury. "Now I am tired of this, you disrespectful cretins! Sit down, shut up, and do as you're told!"

"I won't." He stood firm. "Not until you put the correct information up there."

"Mr Granger-Malfoy, I will not say it again; _sit down_."

An uneasy feeling bubbled up from within Scorpius. Something told him to do as he had been told, but he was tired of Lockberry's crap.

He did not sit down.

Instead, he only looked at her, his decision firmly made. "Change it first."

Edgar rose up next to Scorpius. "Change it, Professor."

"Change it!" Dallas called out from his spot several chairs away from Simon, Edgar and Scorpius. His chair scraped against the flooring as he shoved it back to stand along with his friends.

One by one, the entire class stood up to their feet, and they began chanting the words.

"Shut your mouths!" Lockberry screeched out impatiently. She grabbed her wand and waved it.

Scorpius felt his tongue swell up, and he could no longer speak. It had happened to everyone else too. Many kids were mumbling in confusion or disbelief.

"Sit _down_!"

All at once, the students were forced into their seats, charmed with a spell to follow the professor's order.

Lockberry smiled pleasantly. "Much better. That'll be the last of that." She locked eyes with Scorpius who struggled to break her horrid spell. It was hard to swallow with an enlarged tongue.

"She's out of _control_!" Edgar shrieked out when class was dismissed. Lockberry had assigned the entire lot of students detention that night after dinner.

"We really shouldn't have chanted," Scorpius said.

"Oh, we did the right thing, sunshine. She's an incompetent woman, and she thinks she can do anything she wants because she's in charge."

"So what do we do about her?" Dallas asked helplessly.

None of them had any ideas.

Detention was spent writing lines. Over and over they wrote, _Professor Lockberry is the professor, and I will not disrupt her class again._  
  
There were a few empty seats. Lockberry asked the class if they knew where the missing students were, but no one answered her. She then accused them of helping out their friends and gave them another five pages to write.

Scorpius could honestly say that he didn't know where they were. Gryffindor had two who were absent, and Sally Farley was missing from the Slytherin side— he didn't talk with the girls much, but she wasn't one to break the rules. Scorpius thought it was strange for her to miss a detention.

They could have been absent for a good reason, but this didn't matter at all to Lockberry who spent the entire hour with her eyebrows creased together in anger.

Scorpius was extremely tired when he got back to his room just barely beating curfew (Simon grumbled that Lockberry arranged that on purpose to hopefully get a student in trouble if they didn't make it to their common room in time— Scorpius mildly thought he was right).

Still, even with his drowsiness, he began practicing the spell that Molly had shown him, having very little time to accomplish this.

He did that for three hours before he heard Simon whimpering in his bed near him. It was a sign that he would wake up soon. Once Simon woke, he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep.

Scorpius stepped out of bed and walked over to his friend. He set a hand to the boy's forehead, feeling the moist, warm surface.

"It's not real anymore," he whispered to comfort him.

"Real," Simon mumbled in his sleep.

"Not anymore. You're safe now. I'll protect you, tough guy."

Simon's moaning ceased, and his breathing slowed. Scorpius removed his hand and looked back at his own bed. He yawned. Sleep was trying to pull him, but he refused to cave in; saving Simon was much more important.

*/*

Talli was having the absolute worst birthday ever! For one thing, this was the first birthday that Scorpius couldn't attend, and she was really missing her brother.

Secondly, when you're born into a magical community, a child's eleventh birthday is one of a milestone. Even if you're a Squib and can't cast magic like Talli. There's always that slim amount of hope that your Hogwarts letter will arrive.

All the adults who were present for Talli's birthday were talking about it. They all knew she was a Squib, so when Talli heard things like, "You just never know; she could be magical after all," or "How can the product of Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy have completely no magic?" she got excited. Maybe she could be a late bloomer like the others were saying!

Neville Longbottom didn't show signs of magic until three days before his eleventh birthday.

_It's possible, right?_

But it was after dinner when things wound down, and she still hadn't received an invitation letter to Hogwarts.

Talli hauled herself up into her room, disappointed, depressed and angry with herself for being foolish enough to think that she was a witch.

"I'm a bloody Squib," she muttered, glaring up at the ceiling where she lay on her bed. A tear trailed down her cheek. "I've failed my family."

She cursed herself out for having such false hope.

"Talli?" A soft knocking on the door followed Vanity's quiet voice.

Talli wiped her eyes dry in a haste and allowed her friend entry. "Thought you left?"

"I was just wondering if you got your letter yet..."

Talli shook her head. "No..."

"Oh..." The girl seemed antsy. Not that Vanity wasn't ever eager over anything, but something usually had to push her over. She was shy and afraid of what people thought of her, so she was careful about expressing herself.

She may have been this way because she was believed to be a Squib too, and she likely felt out of place.

"I got a new broom," Talli said.

"I saw that, it's amazing!"

"You can have it." Vanity's family wasn't rich like Talli's, and Vanity was always saying how she would like a new one, but she never bothered her parents about it. She knew they couldn't afford a nice four-hundred Galleon broom.

Vanity's eyes widened. Her mouth opened at a gap. "Oh, I can't do that, Tal, it's yours!"

"It's my birthday present to you— haven't flown a broom since Easter," Talli informed. "I haven't done much of anything really..."

"Oh, thank you!" Vanity squealed out in excitement. She ran over to it and trailed her hand along its handle. "It's a lovely broom. I wish I could give you something just as nice."

"Did you ever get your letter?" Talli asked to confirm, not wanting to make a comment on that.

Vanity looked down at the floor. She mumbled something.

"So you didn't?"

"I did..." the girl whispered.

Talli leaned back from the news, thinking. She was the only one who didn't get one now. The only Squib child that she knew of.

"I'm really sorry, Talli," Vanity whispered, incredibly sad. She sniffed. "Daddy says I have to go. He won't let me stay home, he says that Mummy can't teach me to be a witch, and he's not smart enough to teach me everything that I need to know!"

"It's okay, Van," Talli assured the crying girl and got up to hug her.

"I don't want to go alone though!"

"Lily will be there," Talli reminded her.

Vanity tilted her head. She nodded. "I guess so, but it won't be fun without you."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll have _lots_ of fun."

 _More fun than I will ever have,_ Talli thought, envious of the girl's magic that she lacked herself.

"That was sweet of you to give Vanity your new broom," Mum said a while later after Vanity had left.

"She'll use it more than I will."

Mum rubbed at Talli's back. "I know today was rough for you."

"Yeah..." Talli sighed.

"Is there anything that Mummy can do for you, baby?"

Talli shook her head. "Nothing at all…" Her eyes stung from her preventing them to let loose a flood of tears. She didn't want her Mum to feel anymore bad for her.

_Sorry, Mum. Sorry, I'm a Squib._

Talli wasn't sure why it bothered her so much that day. She had known that she was a Squib for over two years. She had accepted that fact.

Or she had _thought_ that she had accepted it.

Maybe all this time she had just been putting on a show. One that even she had become accustomed to believe.

"We love you just the same, Talli," Mum spoke softly.

Talli looked her Mum in the eye. Mum appeared so sympathetic, Talli was sure she could ask for almost anything in the world right then, and Mummy would have done it.

But she couldn't get Talli what she wanted. No amount of love or money could buy her a magical core.

Talli threw her arms around her mother and sniffed loudly. It was so hard not to cry, and she couldn't stop herself anymore. She let the tears flow, crying into her Mum's chest. It wasn't going to fix things, but she knew it would make her feel a little better for the time being.


	13. Little Criminals

Sometimes it was difficult playing a Muggle card game with a magical deck of cards. Several editions were charmed to act on their own, and often you had little control on your play. Like most card games in both the Muggle world, winning was heavily based on luck.

Talli wasn't playing with anyone though, so it didn't much matter if she won or loss her game of Solitaire. She was just playing to keep her hands and eyes busy while her dad tried talking with her.

She wasn't interested in talking. She was already embarrassed that she had cried like a baby earlier, and Talli was sure her mother had said something to Daddy about it.

His words were quiet, his tone, hopeless, lost and unsure. He hated these 'talks' as much as she did.

"We've already come to terms that you are what you are."

Talli pursed her lips. "You're really not helping me, Daddy. Can't you just leave me alone?"

"I just hate to see you upset, Princess."

"Maybe that's something you'll also have to get used to," she snipped.

"Tallistar…"

"I'm _eleven_ , Daddy, haven't you heard how mouthy kids my age are?"

Daddy laughed. "You've always been mouthy. Age has nothing to do with it."

"Well, we're moody too— maybe that's why parents send their kids off to Hogwarts, so they don't have to deal with the whole teenager thing!"

"That's not true."

"I hear adults talk," Talli said seriously. "One month home for summer, and they're going crazy and can't wait for school to start again! Too bad you're stuck with me. Unless you plan on sending me to a Muggle boarding school, you'd love that, huh?"

Daddy squatted down to her level and placed a hand to Talli's back. "I would never do that."

Talli jerked herself from him. She threw the playing cards into a pile and stood up. She felt like crying again, but she refused to do it in front of him. Her dad would make a huge deal out of it.

"No, because I'm an embarrassment to the family," Talli choked out in a whisper.

"You are _not_! We love you just the way you are!"

"But you're disappointed that I'm a Squib. You'd _prefer_ that I was magical, _right_?"

He said nothing, and she knew he couldn't say that she was wrong. Not honestly, at least.

"I'm a reject," Talli said flatly.

"Draco!" Mum called out for him. She sounded upset. For a second, her father couldn't decide whether to stay with Talli or go and see what was wrong with Mum.

"I'll be back to finish this," he warned her sternly, finally choosing on Mum.

Talli huffed in annoyance and slammed her door closed after he left. She just wanted to be left alone! How hard was it for people to do?!

She eyed the mess at the floor where the cards were. Some floated slightly above the others. Two of them circled around slowly. She was momentarily mesmerized by them. They almost looked like they were dancing in a ballet, telling a story of their own.

She imagined music playing. Specifically a harp. It was slow and soft. One of the cards— an eight of diamonds— was a child, she decided, and the Jack of Hearts that was dancing with the eight of diamonds was an angel who had come to take the child with him to the skies to end her pain.

"Talli!"

The cards fell as thudding followed her father's call. The story that she had imagined was now long forgotten as Daddy plowed into her bedroom. He waved an envelope in his hand, an absolute enormous smile spread out across his face. She had never seen him so happy before.

"Your letter!" he gasped, out of breath, snatching her up into his arms and lifting her off the ground. He spun her around so fast, she screamed out. "It's here, it's here! You're a witch, Talli! You're a not a bloody Squib!"

He set her back down and shoved the letter to her chest so that she could read it.

_Dear Talitha Jane Granger-Malfoy,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry—_

This was an acceptance letter to Hogwarts.

She had been accepted…

Then, that meant…!

But how…? She had never cast a spell before. How could she be a witch…?

"You wouldn't have this if you weren't magical," Daddy assured her, waving the letter happily. "This is proof!"

She had to get her wand right then. Everything else could wait, but not the one tool that she would need for the rest of her life.

But Talli's excitement faded when they had made a trip to the wandmaker, and she had tried wand after wand. It didn't appear that any wand wanted her, and she started to believe that the letter had been a mistake.

The wandmaker tried hiding his nervousness. If he ran out of wands for her to try, Talli would have been the first to ever leave his shop empty handed.

But that didn't happen. _Finally_ a ten and a half black walnut wood wand chose her, and her hope lit back up.

"And that is your wand, deary," the man announced with immense relief.

Talli held it in her grip firmly. It was now the most important thing she possessed. This told her that she was a witch.

"We've got to tell Grandfather!" she said when she and her parents returned back home. And she floo-called her grandparents before Mum and Dad could even respond.

"Hurry! Get Grandfather and Grandmother!" she demanded to the house elf who answered the floo. "Please!" she added after her mother had reminded her of it.

She climbed into the floo to travel, wanting to tell them in person, and Mum and Dad crammed in after her.

A few seconds and a tight stomach later, she was thrown out of the fireplace. Her parents stepped out elegantly, having perfected the landing in all their years.

"I would have thought with as graceful as you are, you would have learned how to catch yourself by now," Grandfather spoke from across the room.

She ran up to him, and Grandmother entered the room. "Look!" Talli squealed, holding up her wand for them both to see. "It chose me! It chose me! I'm a witch, I'm a witch!"

Her grandparents looked at her parents for confirmation.

"It's true!" Daddy exclaimed, and he showed Grandfather the acceptance letter to Hogwarts.

"Oh, sweet pea!" Grandmother wrapped her arms around Talli, tears dripped from her eyes. "That's just wonderful! I know you were so upset, and this is so lovely to hear!"

Grandfather was stunned. His mouth was stuck in a half-smile-half-gap as he read over the letter in disbelief. "Thank Merlin and the stars!" He threw his hands up and then snatched up his granddaughter, kissing her on the cheek. He started laughing, giddy with happiness.

"It's broken! The curse is _really_ broken!"

It was the best day of her life. It would have been great if Scorpius were there with her, but that wasn't a possibility. Instead, she had decided to keep it a secret from him.

And that meant that no one else could know for another month either. Her latest news would definitely be in the news if word spread.

Thankfully her parents and grandparents all agreed to keep it a secret so that she could surprise her brother.

It was going to be extremely hard hiding the fact, but it'll be worth it in the end. Scorpius was going to be so shocked with her witch status!

Talli slept with her wand that night. She was so incredibly happy to have one. Her parents had promised to help her with some spells the next day. The thought of casting magic was amazing, and she had trouble getting to sleep, but finally, her eyelids grew heavy, and she could no longer stay awake.

She had lovely dreams of being a witch that night.

*/*

A desk separated Scorpius from his Head of House. He was being lectured. He'd be honest, half of it he wasn't absorbing. His mind was on other things. Things that were far more important than Professor Bulstrode's pointless attempt to understand why he had been getting so many detentions recently.

He had been sleeping too much during classes. When Scorpius had gotten the notice that Professor Bulstrode wanted to meet with him to see what was going on, he decided that he'd have a case of Stay-Awake drinks owled in as soon as he could. If he could stay awake all day, then he'd not get detention from sleeping.

Scorpius really didn't need the Head of Slytherin worried about him— the next step was getting his parents involved. That just couldn't happen.

"Professor Lockberry claims that you have been quite the disruption during her lessons."

The mention of the worst Potions teacher in possibly the entire history of Hogwarts made Scorpius lift his eyes up to look at the woman. Professor Bulstrode sported a blank expression on her face. She held a quill in one hand, ready to write down his response (she did this for documentation purposes).

"It was _one_ time," he answered honestly. "Unless she speaks about the times of me raising my hand to confirm her questionable statements of facts."

Professor Bulstrode wrote this down before she made a response. "Questionable?" She appeared to be actually interested in Scorpius's explanation.

Scorpius set his hands to either side of the chair he sat in and slid to the edge of the seat. "She's spouting off whatever fancies her. She's absolutely butchered the skill of Potions— has _completely_ no idea about the skill."

Professor Bulstrode only nodded in acknowledgement, scribbling away, looking down at the parchment as she wrote.

She pushed her chair backwards so that she could bend down and slide open a drawer of which Scorpius couldn't see. She set a stack of papers onto her desk and shuffled through them.

"Tell me, Mr. Granger-Malfoy, what's the sixth ingredient to the common antidote?"

Scorpius eyed his professor over. He slightly shook his head. "There are only four ingredients to the common antidote, Professor," he answered.

"This is your most recent exam," she said, placing it onto his side of the desk. "May I ask why you put down that there are six ingredients to it?"

Scorpius stood and snatched up the paper. He wrinkled his eyebrows in confusion. "Um, Professor, I only listed four: bezoar, standard ingredient, unicorn horn, and the mistletoe berries…"

"You listed six ingredients. Arrowroot powder and the tooth of a giant—"

"We don't even _use_ giant's teeth in potions!" Scorpius screeched out in frustration, sick of its mentioning by now. Lockberry was often repeating its alleged usefulness in Potions, and it was starting to get to him!

"Mr. Granger-Malfoy!" Arms folded across Professor Bulstrode's chest in disapproval. "I will not tolerate such a tone! I simply asked you a question!"

"Yes, ma'am," he instantly said, mellowing down his tone. "I apologize." Scorpius sucked in a breath in an effort to speak calmly. "Lockberry continues to insist that a giant's tooth is some amazing cure, but everyone who has an education past a _troll_ knows that the tooth of a giant will cause the _contaminated_ potion to go rancid in just three weeks after the potion's brewing."

Professor Bulstrode's hands fell to her lap, and she actually gave him a smile. With a nod, she dismissed him. "You're free to go." She held out her hand for him to give her back the exam paper.

"I'm not in trouble then?"

"You're perfectly fine. Just try and stay awake for your next run of exams, alright? They are the most important ones of the year."

Scorpius sent her a funny look before he nodded and turned to leave. He didn't understand what just happened, but he was grateful enough that he wasn't in any trouble.

Professor Bulstrode stopped by during Scorpius's next Potion lesson.

"May I help you?" Lockberry asked. She sent a look to the students, unhappy that they had looked up from their work upon Professor Bulstrode's entrance.

Professor Bulstrode glanced around, stopping her eyes at the blackboard that listed down a review of that year's material which would be needed for the exams— or rather what Lockberry _insisted_ would be needed.

"Miss Masters will have to be excused for the rest of the lesson. I do apologize for the interruption."

Diana Masters stood up slowly from her seat from behind Scorpius, glancing at Lockberry for the added permission.

"Alright, that is fine." Lockberry spoke overly nice to Professor Bulstrode, as if it really didn't bother her that a student had to miss the rest of the class for whatever reason.

Her demeanor changed after they had left of course, and she made everyone stay behind for an extra ten minutes because of the interruption that had been made.

"I can't have you failing those exams now, can I?"

A few students groaned, making Lockberry huff out in disapproval. "I'm sorry that you don't find this as important as I do!"

Scorpius hoped that the school-wide tutoring would work, because if it didn't, many of the students were going to flunk the Potions exam.

*/*

"Stop that!"

"I can't help it! I'm so nervous!" Edgar crinkled up an empty bag of crisps, shuffling it from one hand to the other. The continuous noise of it was driving Dallas bananas!

Today was the finals, and at the moment, the entire lot of first years were standing in the hall outside of the Potions dungeon, waiting for Lockberry to unlock the door and let them in.

"You know all of the material! Stop worrying!"

"Merlin, yes but Lockberry's testing us, so I'm torn between her answers and the right ones!"

There was a moment of silence that fell over them with that statement. No one had thought about that until right then.

"Wish I had some licorice whips!" Edgar grumbled. "I'm so ruddy hungry!"

"Oh, would you just shut it for once?! Is that your only crutch; food?!" Sally snapped out from beside him. She slammed herself against the wall they were standing by and crossed her arms in frustration. "Where _is_ she?!" she demanded, looking at her watch. "We're going to be late for Herbology if she doesn't let us in soon!"

"You're not nervous too, are you, Farley?" Warren asked, grinning at her now drumming fingers.

"So what if I am?" she shot back without even shifting her eyes at him.

That's when Professor Bulstrode came walking up. "Afternoon, boys and girls," she greeted them and unlocked the door to their classroom.

"Where's Lockberry?" someone asked, echoing the question they all had going on in their minds.

"She's not able to make it, so I will be giving you your tests today."

Scorpius instantly felt overjoyed, and judging by the smiles on many faces, he wasn't the only one who was relieved by Lockberry's absence.

"We've got this!" a girl whispered to another. "We're actually going to pass!"

They took their seats, and Professor Bulstrode sent out sheets of papers for the written part of their exam. "Now, I guarantee you that giant's teeth is not an answer to any of these questions." She took a moment to lock her eyes with Scorpius who gave her a smile of relief.

An adult was finally listening to them! Maybe Lockberry had been fired! They might have investigated her teaching methods and discovered that she was a fraud! Could that be why Lockberry couldn't make it to hold the exams?

Scorpius's thoughts were starting to seem factual. Lockberry wasn't present at any of the following meals. Rumours spread fast— the most comical one being that she was some kind of outer space alien and had returned to her home planet.

The other professors claimed that she had to leave school on a personal matter, but the students refused to believe this. Too many had wild imaginations.

Scorpius thought more hopeful and realistic, he was certain that she had been fired, but the news was being kept under the rug to avoid it from hitting the papers. If parents of students heard about this, it wouldn't be good for the school. Ever since the Battle of Hogwarts, the school had been in the careful, watchful eyes of parents. Too many terrible, unsafe things happened in the past, many of them caused by teachers.

Whatever the reason for its delay to hit the papers, as long as Lockberry was gone, Scorpius didn't much care if it'd make the Wizardry news or not.

"I passed!" squeaked out Edgar when the exam results were given out. "I passed Potions! And I'd bet that these scores are much higher than my dad's were!"

"I'm guessing you got nothing wrong?" a small voice asked Scorpius.

A smile was stuck to Scorpius's face. He was relieved. Proud, but relieved. He never doubted that he couldn't get top scores in Potions, but while Lockberry had been involved, he had been a little worried.

His Potions score was perfect! His parents would be proud, and neither would have to wonder why he was doing in lousy in the subject anymore. They would realize that it wasn't his fault whatsoever.

He did miss a few moves on his practical exam in Flying, but he passed that too.

"I didn't do half bad," he said to Simon who had been the one that had asked how he done.

"Well, we know your parents would expect nothing less."

Scorpius folded up the results to his exams, thinking to himself that _he_ wouldn't have accepted anything less.

If he didn't hate Flying so much, he would have asked if he could retake it just to get a better grade. But it was just Flying, and he didn't want to go another year of that when he didn't have to.

He knew how to fly if he needed to.

*/*

"This isn't going to work, Scorpius."

Scorpius scrunched up his eyebrows in concentration, trying to ignore Simon's pessimistic attitude.

"I've come to accept my fate."

"Stop!"

"It's no use, sunshine, you can't do it, and that's okay. You tried."

Scorpius felt his nose tingle, emotional from his lack of success. He was so angry with himself. But he had to stay calm, otherwise he would for certain never manage the shrinking spell. Crying wouldn't help, that was for certain.

"You're not going back there," Scorpius announced firmly. "You're _not_." Their eyes met, and Scorpius refused to be the first one to look away. His friend needed to know that he was dead serious.

Simon, the first to break eye contact, sighed and plopped down onto his bed. "You have a problem accepting the word 'no'."

"No, I have a problem with _abuse_."

"You have thirty minutes before we have to start piling up in those carriages— what are you going to do, stuff me in your trunk?"

Scorpius lowered his wand, thinking on it. Simon didn't have a terrible idea. Scorpius could smuggle him into his home and when Mother found out, she would insist that Simon stay for the summer.

"Whoa!" Simon hollered out, realizing that Scorpius was actually considering his snarky joke. He leaped off the bed, putting it between them. "No! I'm not going to be locked up in that thing for the day!"

"It's the only way!" Scorpius said, pleadingly. "It'll be alright! I won't let anything—"

"You bloody well think of something else! I can't go on there, Scorpius, I'll _die_!"

Scorpius lowered his eyes to his feet after seeing the absolute fear in his friend's eyes. Simon was right. He couldn't spend the day locked in a trunk.

"Alright…" he finally said, defeated. "I don't know what to do then."

There was a crack right then, and a house elf appeared right in their dormitory. "I has been asked to delivers this to Scorpius." In the hands of the elf was a canister with a piece of parchment attached to it.

Scorpius took it, curiosity momentarily made him forget about his current problem. He thanked the elf and read the note, barely noticing the elf popping away.

" _Thought you could use this. It's good for one use only, so at the right time, sprinkle the entire contents into his hair, and your problems will all be solved._

_But do note, it lasts for only two hours._

— _Professor Williger"_

Upon opening the canister, Scorpius found that it contained a substance that appeared to be similar to black glitter. He sniffed it. Whatever it was, it smelled like burnt wood.

"What do you think it does?"

Scorpius shrugged at Simon's question. "I guess we'll see in a few hours." He trusted Williger, even if he was a bit on the weird side. Then again, Scorpius couldn't help to wonder if that was a thing about seers. Many of them were often strange. Now that he knew a handful of them, he thought it was appropriate and fair to make that kind of judgement.

Hours later, when they arrived at the Kings Cross thanks to the Hogwarts Express, Simon and Scorpius purposely stayed behind in their compartment so that they could use the product Professor Williger had so kindly given them.

Simon stood directly in front of Scorpius with his chest boldly out, ready to accept whatever the 'glitter' was going to do to him.

Right away, at just the first sprinkling, Simon sneezed heavily. And then he sneezed again with the second one.

"Scorbiass," he started to say with a clogged nasal 'accent'. "I don't tink—" another sneeze stopped him from finishing his sentence, and within a blink of an eye, he was gone!

"Simon?!" Scorpius yelped out. He looked down and very faintly, he heard something squeak.

It was Simon. He had been shrunk down to a tiny size— about four inches tall!

"Fish tails!" Scorpius breathed out, stepping back carefully to ensure that he didn't squish his friend with his feet. "You're so small!"

Simon crossed his arms, highly insulted with the discovery. He said something, but all Scorpius could make out was squeaking.

Slowly Scorpius bent down and put his hand down at Simon's level. "Get on," he said.

When Simon was on his hand and up to Scorpius's face, he could easily be heard. Scorpius couldn't help but laugh though. Simon sounded kind of like a chipmunk from a Muggle television cartoon program.

"This isn't funny!" Simon snapped in his high-pitched, squeaky voice.

"I'm sorry," Scorpius told him truthfully, mustering up all his willpower to get serious. "I guess we should go. My parents will worry before too long. You'll have to ride with Weetoo until we get home."

" _What_?"

"Well, you can't ride on _me_ , my family will surely smother me with hugs— you'll get crushed!"

Simon grumbled, but he agreed. "She better not think I'm lunch!"

Weetoo was fine with him though, especially after Scorpius gave her a treat. "There. She won't bother you a bit."

He then put the cover blanket on, hearing "As soon as you get home, you best let me out! I don't want to know what it feels like if this gets molded around me when the magic wears off!"

Scorpius winced at the thought. The cage was not big enough for Simon to even sit in at his actual size.

"I won't forget you," he promised and began pushing his trolley toward the exit.

"Careful!" he stressed to the man who offered to help him with his load.

"I won't hurt yee bird, lad!" the man said after Weetoo let out a squawk from under the cover.

When they were on the platform, Scorpius could hear Talli calling out for him, and he smiled at the sight of his family, realizing how much he had missed them during the past few weeks.

As he earlier 'predicted', his parents and sister hugged him until his bones practically cracked— well, he'd be lying if he said that he didn't partake in this too.

And Talli even had some exciting news for him! She had been hiding it for over a month now, and she could no longer keep it bottled inside her.

"Look what I got!" she burst out in the middle of Mother fussing over how tired he looked.

Scorpius eyed the object in Talli's hand as she gently waved it back and forth. She sported a large smile. He gawked at it in complete disbelief, and Scorpius had to ask to confirm that it was indeed a wand.

Talli was a witch! His heart pounded in sheer excitement! He could not be anymore happier for his sister right then! She had been having such difficulties this last year with her lack of magic, and he had felt so bad for her.

"I _knew_ something was up!" he exclaimed. "You seemed so happy recently!"

"It has a hammerkop core!" his sister informed him.

"What an unusual core," Scorpius commented. It was very different from his unicorn one.

They held their wands side-by-side to compare the two. It was strange how different their wands were. Hers was longer, and darker than his beech one, which was almost white. Scorpius's wand was also pretty fat and solid, where Talli's was skinny and flexible. When she whipped it through the air, it hissed— Scorpius's could be used as a physical weapon if he ever had the need.

"Where's Simon, sweety?" Mother asked, stopping to look around, as if she had just thought of him.

"We got separated," Scorpius answered truthfully. One of his grandfather's elf's had taken away his trolley to deliver Weetoo (and unbeknownst to everyone but him, Simon). "He said he had something to do before he could get off the train."

That wasn't a lie. Simon had said exactly that to Edgar earlier when the train had arrived at the platform.

Mother nodded absentmindedly. She continued to scan the crowd for the boy. Father set his hand to her back when she creased her eyebrows worriedly.

"What's going to happen to Simon, Mummy?"

Talli didn't get an answer to her question. Grimly, they had no choice but to leave without him.

"I can't believe we did it!" Simon gasped out a while later. He was actually smiling. Happily smiling. This was not common for him to do. "So when do we let your parents know?"

"I'm thinking around dinner time. That'll be long enough for all the commotion to settle down."

There was a knock on Scorpius's bedroom door right then, and Simon scrambled off of the bed where he had been sitting and threw himself into the bathroom that Scorpius and Talli shared.

"Hello, Grandfather," Scorpius calmly addressed the man, slightly out of breath from a small case of panic.

"Hello yourself," his grandfather greeted. The man's silvery, stern eyes instantly settled at the door of the bathroom, sending Scorpius's blood to pump quickly.

"And did you have a good school year?" Grandfather was trying to be casual, but Scorpius had a feeling he knew something was up.

"It was okay," Scorpius simply answered. The room was quickly growing increasingly warm. His clothes were sticky and hot. He felt his forehead heat up as his grandfather crossed the room and stopped at the bathroom door, setting his hands behind his back. The man assessed the door, his head slowly moving up, then down.

"Bring any... _souvenirs_?"

"Souvenirs?"

Grandfather chuckled quietly. "You are very much like your mother, son— neither of you are grand liars." He whipped around so fast that Scorpius literally jumped back. Grandfather raised his eyebrows. "You will surely have to explain to me how you accomplished such a task, but _first_ …" He stepped forward and lifted his hand up, snapping his fingers— all done in one fluid motion.

Simon stood behind the tall man who had yet to turn around to confirm his thoughts. The boy's shoulders slumped, all happiness gone.

"There are rules, Scorpius. Kidnapping Muggleborns is a serious crime."

"Aren't I more like a fugitive?" Simon's voice was meek and quiet, but he never could pass up a moment to make a comment, especially if it was to correct someone in such a matter.

"The law will not see it that way," the man said without any humour in his tone. "The Ministry is on their way now."

"No!" Both boys cried out in unison.

"Please, Grandfather!" Scorpius pleaded the man. "Don't let them make Simon go back!"

"You cannot do things on your own just because you don't like how things are," Grandfather reminded him firmly. "Pack your things, young man," he said to Simon in a hushed voice. Scorpius watched his grandfather thin his lips, and he left the room without another word.

Scorpius felt like crying, and Simon didn't look like he was feeling any better; his eyes were red and puffy. All hope was lost between them.

And they had been _so_ close in saving Simon from those monsters.

What happened next was something that the neither of the boys would never forget.

"Mother?!" Scorpius had walked in on his mother with her hands bound behind her back. His outcry was absorbed by the many of other voices. Father was trying to stop a Ministry official from hauling Mother off like she was some criminal. Some man in a blue suit was rambling on and on about how Mother had gone too far with her agenda. Mother was in the process of expressing her absolute confusion, and the official behind her was listing off her alleged crimes.

"I haven't kidnapped anyone!"

"There he is now! That's the missing boy!" The man pointed behind Scorpius. Everyone's heads turned toward Simon.

"Come here, boy," the man said, coaxingly. "We're here to take you home now."

"No!" Scorpius screeched, shielding his friend from the man's view. "He can't go back!"

"Don't make matters worse, son."

"Leave my son out of this, Warrington," Father said warningly.

"Sounds like the entire Malfoy family wishes to spend the night in lock-up; kidnapping and threatening people. These are not mild offenses, Jonas."

The man arresting Mother gave a slight nod. "You might want to settle down. These kinds of things sort themselves out quickly."

"He's right," Mother said stiffly. "Call Harry," she directed at Father. "I'll be alright."

"You may continue on with your job, Warrington," Jonas permitted, leading Mother into the floo.

Warrington, sporting a satisfied, smug grin, faced the boys again, his eyes set on Simon. "Let's go, boy, now," he gestured impatiently. "I'm not going to be late for dinner because of you."

"He's _not_ going anywhere!" Scorpius snarled.

"Chomper," his father spoke up just loud enough for him to voice their defeat. "There's nothing we can do right now."

"Listen to your father, boy." Warrington took a step toward them, causing Scorpius to close the gap between he and Simon, still standing between Simon and Warrington.

"I won't let you take him back to those horrible people. You'll have to kill me first!"

Simon set a hand onto his shoulder. His fingers dug deep into his skin, but Scorpius hardly noticed.

"He'll be arrested just like his mummy, Draco," Warrington addressed Father, as he spoke, he took a step closer with each word.

"He's done nothing! You're talking flack!"

"Harboring a fugitive is a crime."

"He can't be a fugitive if he's been kidnapped."

Warrington was getting too close now, and Scorpius could hear Simon breathing heavily. Tiny, quiet whimpers escaped his mouth.

"Move away from the muggleborn, boy," Warrington growled.

"Never!" Scorpius took a step back, herding Simon backward.

"You little brat! You're just like your bloody mother! This is not your business! Now move, or I'll make you!" He reached out to pry Scorpius out of the way, but Father stopped him from going any further.

"You've gone too far, Warrington! Get out of my home! _Now_!"

"Get your hands off me!" Warrington spat. He swung a fist, connecting it to Father's chin. Father, not having expected the attack, stumbled a little and released Warrington in the process.

Warrington quickly advanced back on the boys, and snatched Scorpius by his arm harshly making Scorpius yelp.

Simon screamed out in an outburst and Warrington went flying off several feet. Simon linked his and Scorpius's arms together as Warrington shouted threats at them all. Scorpius saw his father grab his wand before he felt a sudden tightness in his gut, and the scene disappeared right before his eyes.

A split-second later, he was tossed down to the ground, sucking in gulps of air. "What… happened?" he asked weakly.

Simon didn't answer. He curled up into a ball, matting up the tall grass underneath him, shuddering.

"Simon?!"

"I'm sorry!" Simon sputtered. "I didn't mean to! It just happened! I couldn't help it!" He was uncontrollably sobbing now.

"It's okay," Scorpius assured him softly.

"It's all my fault. I should have just went back!"

"You know that wasn't an option."

"You mum…!" He tucked his head tighter into his human-ball, shaking it. "She's been arrested! They think _she_ did it!"

A brick crashed into Scorpius's gut. "You're right," he whispered. "We've done a serious thing, and she's innocent."

"What's going to happen to her?" Simon asked quietly, sniffing.

Scorpius thought on it for a few seconds before he answered. "Mother is an adored public figure, and Uncle Harry is the head of the Auror department, so I'm sure everything will be fine. This isn't the first time she's been in trouble with the law. Mother does a lot of shady things for the betterment of defenseless creatures."

Scorpius let his eyes wander, curious where Simon had accidentally apparated them. "Tough guy," he said slowly, letting his eyes settle on a house. "Isn't this that same place you almost froze to death at?"

Simon sat up, taking a look. His brow creased. "Yeah." He stood up and began walking toward the house. "I used to live here," he announced. "When Mum was still alive."

Scorpius's eyes fell toward the ground, feeling sad for his friend. They didn't speak another word until Simon got up to one of the grimy windows. He looked into it longingly, possibly reminiscing over his childhood.

"Why was your home abandoned, Simon?"

Simon lifted up his shoulders, clueless. "I was too young too remem—" he stopped suddenly and took a step back, tripping over his own feet.

"Are you okay?"

"No," Simon answered hoarsely. He shook his head. "I'm far from okay. Mum… she was…" Simon swallowed, wetting his throat. He abruptly stood up and he spun around, running back toward the spot that they had arrived at.

"Simon!" Scorpius chased after him. His lungs burned from having to keep up with him. It wasn't easy. Simon was fast.

Simon collapsed into the grass, wrapping his arms around his knees. "I'm not okay!" he said through gasps of breaths. "I'm not!" He began rocking back and forth.

"What's wrong, Simon?!" Scorpius demanded.

"I just saw it!" Simon choked, wailing, still rocking where he sat. He bent his head down, placing his forehead onto his knees. "Mum!" he cried out shakily. "She was murdered! My mum was _murdered_!"


	14. Father of Mine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I'm still here, lol. Writing is just not something I can do much of anymore, but I still love doing it. Just finding a good time is pretty hard.
> 
> Enjoy, and thanks for sticking around!

Talli yelled at the fighting men for them to stop, but neither paid her any attention. Spells went flying back and forth, and the room was starting to look like a war zone.

She winced when an ancient, pink elephant figurine tumbled off its display and crashed down, breaking into many pieces. Mum wasn't going to be happy when she discovered that. It was an irreplaceable item, given to her by a forest imp who had dearly appreciated her help when she saved his homeland from being stripped of its trees.

Talli watched the brawl from a doorway, not daring to step into the room, fearing a spell might hit her. She felt something set upon her shoulder and smiled when she looked up to see her grandfather had joined her. He tapped her shoulder softly and gave her a nod, silently telling her not to be afraid.

Grandfather slipped around her and took out his wand, ending the fight with a simple wave; both Dad and the stranger stood in place, emotionless.

He released Dad first who stood there, breathing hard, wiping away a bit of blood from his lip.

"Proud of yourself?"

"A little," Dad muttered. His eyes scanned the room, settling on Talli before he heaved out a sigh. "Alright, I'm feeling a little regret— but in my defense, he was being a prick hole! The way he went after Scorpius— he had no right to touch my son!"

"Warrington will get what is due to him," was all Grandfather said about the subject. He then released Warrington from the spell.

"I'm pressing charges!" the man instantly shouted. "By the end of the night, your _entire_ family will be behind bars!"

"Go back to your office, Warrington," Grandfather spoke softly. Somehow the words came out sounding pretty chilling though. Talli shuddered. She had never heard him sound so scary.

"Not without that _boy_ ," Warrington snarled. His eyes searched the room for Simon, finding that the boy was absent. "You're hiding him! You are walking on thin ice, Malfoy!"

"Leave now before I force you out of the home. Someone else can deal with the boy. You're too inept." Grandfather remained calm.

"Inept?!"

" _Inept_ ," Grandfather repeated, challenging him to go further. "This is your final warning. _Get_. _Out_."

Warrington knew a threat when he heard one; he hurled around, stalking to the Floo. "This isn't over," he warned them. "I'm going to get you all!"

Grandfather flicked his wand elegantly, and a ball of fire flew out the end of it, racing toward Warrington who scrambled into the Floo and hastily spoke his destination.

"Where are the boys anyway?" Grandfather directed to his son.

Dad shook his head cluelessly. "I wouldn't doubt they're hiding somewhere. Simon was awfully frightened, and Scorpius was persistent to keep him from Warrington."

After a thorough search, with Toogy getting involved, they declared that the two boys were no longer in the home.

Talli began chewing on her nails. She grew worried by the second. Where could they have gone? Her father and grandfather didn't panic though. The boys were trackable by their magic, and once Scorpius casted a spell, they could be found easily. But Talli was still concerned. Would Scorpius even cast a spell? He was hardly the rule breaker, and Hogwarts students were forbidden to cast magic outside of the school. Then again, he was also a brilliant boy, so if they were lost, he knew that casting a spell would indeed help him to be found.

"I'll wait for Scorpius to cast something," Grandfather said to Dad. "Why don't you go see if your wife needs any help?"

Dad appeared conflicted over the suggestion. He wanted to help Scorpius, but Mum could probably use the help too.

"As soon as he uses his magic, I'll alert you," Grandfather promised. "He'll be okay, I'm sure they can't be far. No sense in you being here when you are needed elsewhere."

Dad nodded, and he sighed in defeat. "The _second_ you are alerted?"

"Absolutely."

No sooner than Dad stepped into the Floo to depart, a house elf appeared right next to Grandfather. Kippy was the house elf Grandfather used often. She held out a piece of rolled up parchment for him to take.

"This has just arrived, Master."

Grandfather was disinterested at first, but Kippy mentioned that it was "about the boy", and that was all it took for him to snatch the note. Talli watched her Grandfather read over the parchment before he rolled it back up and tucked it into the shirt of his suit. He paced the room slowly, silent in thought.

"Was that about Simon?" Talli asked, unable to keep the question to herself for any longer.

"It is none of your concern," her grandfather replied. She rolled her eyes at the response. Everyone always wondered why she was so snoopy; it was because no one would ever tell her anything!

*/*

Simon stared at the house that he had once lived in as a small boy. Scorpius didn't know what to say to comfort him. He wasn't sure anything could be said to ease his pain, so he remained quiet, letting his friend mourn. They had been standing like that for several minutes, all the while, nothing was said between them. Scorpius had an uncomfortable lump in his throat, and Simon's face was blotchy from the tears he had earlier shed.

"They'll be worried." Simon was the one to speak first. His eyes were still glued to the abandoned home that stood many yards from them. Ever since he had seen the vision of his mother being murdered, he didn't want to go anywhere near it.

"My parents are probably worrying, yes," Scorpius agreed. He had decided long ago that the trouble he'd be in would be worth it. His friend needed his support.

Simon pulled his eyes away from the structure to look at his friend. "How will we get back?" He sounded genuinely concerned about their predicament. Since he hadn't meant to apparate them here, they both knew he wouldn't have the ability to perform the spell again— nor should he try. It was a very dangerous spell for first years to cast, and Scorpius was sure Simon was going to get a lecture about it when they got back— not like Simon had been able to control what he had done, but that didn't seem to matter to the Ministry. In their eyes, he had committed a crime.

"Are you ready to go back?"

Simon toed the ground, thinking it over. "Not really…" His shoulders slumped, likely thinking about the man that had come to take him back to the Morgans. "Guess we can't stay here forever though."

"We'll hide you."

Simon shook his head. "That's against the law, and your family is not going to get into trouble over me."

"Well, we'll do something, you'll see. My mother will do everything to stop them from taking you!"

"Look what's happened to her, Scorpius!" Simon cried out in exasperation. "She's been _arrested_!"

Scorpius shrugged it off. "She'll get out. She's been in holding lots of times. Besides, this time she's innocent."

"They don't know that! They saw me in your house, and that's all it took!"

"Then we need to get to the Ministry and tell them what really happened."

"And then… I'm off to the Morgans…" Simon's voice had lowered, all hope was lost.

"Maybe… there's something we can do." Scorpius thought on it, trying to come up with an idea on how he could hide his friend. "What about the shrinking spell!"

Simon rolled his eyes. "We tried that already! It's too hard!"

"Maybe for us, but what if someone else did it?"

"Like who? No one we know will cast that for us."

"A house elf! They can perform magic on humans."

"There's no house elf here…"

"Well no, but my family has a few, and they'll respond to my call— especially if they've all noticed that I'm missing. We can get home that way too."

"And then they won't shrink me, they'll just take us to your home, and we'll get lectured, and that bloody Warrington man will come again to take me away."

"We can go to the Ministry when we get back, and tell them everything. It'll be alright."

Simon scoffed in doubt, but it wasn't like they could do anything else. They could tell the Ministry anything, it still wouldn't stop him from having to go back to the Morgans.

Not even an hour after Scorpius had called upon a house elf called Toogy, the boys stood alone in a room at the Ministry while all the adults involved in their little ordeal were shut in another, discussing their upcoming fate. The Minister himself had been told of what had happened, including the misunderstanding that had occurred at the Malfoy home.

Scorpius felt a little queasy, but deep down, he was trying to focus on the hope that his gut feeling was merely grasping onto.

Finally, after thirty-eight agonizing minutes, the door creaked open, and several bodies emerged. Scorpius awaited to hear what had been decided, looking from one of his family members to the next.

"Your mother's been pardoned," his father announced with a relieved sigh.

"And what of Simon?" Scorpius asked anxiously. "What has been decided?"

"We have temporary custody of him," Mother said, sporting an enormous smile.

Following that statement, Simon gaped at the mouth. He couldn't find any words to express his shock.

Scorpius on the other hand was completely ecstatic! He leaped into the air, cheering happily, "You hear that, Simon! I told you! I _told_ you!" He hugged his still-shocked friend tightly.

"Yes," Simon said, grinning, happy that he wasn't returning to the Morgans— at least for the time being. "You did tell me, sunshine."

When Scorpius pulled away with a smile still clung to his face, Simon asked, "Why is it okay for me to stay now?"

Mum stepped forward when none of the other adults volunteered to explain. "It's about your father, he's been located."

Simon's eyes grew wide. "You found him?!"

"Indeed," Grandfather simply said. He usually didn't speak much, being more of the observant type, speaking only when he felt what he had to say was important.

"What is it?" Scorpius wondered, suddenly feeling like there was something that they didn't want to reveal to them.

No one said anything for a couple moments, increasing the boys' worry and curiosity.

"He's not dead, is he?" Simon's voice could barely be heard as he envisioned the worst.

"No," Grandfather answered. "He's a resident at an asylum though— one for wizards."

"Wizards…?" Simon was again lost at what to say.

"So Simon isn't a Muggleborn?" Scorpius managed to ask the question that Simon couldn't find the words for.

"It appears not."

Simon backed up to sit in a chair, his hands shook as he placed them to either side of his head. "I— I don't understand…"

Scorpius took a seat next to him and set a hand to his back. "Grandfather, why would his father be in an asylum?"

"Why else would anyone be in an asylum, Scorpius."

"I want to see him," Simon said.

"That's not exactly a—"

"He's my dad, and I haven't seen him since I was young, please Mr. Malfoy, take me to him!" Simon had tears in his eyes. He uprooted from the chair, squaring off his shoulders. "If you won't take me, I'll just go on my own."

"Oh, Simon," Mother crooned from where she stood. "Of course you can see him!"

"Hermione—"

"It's his _father_ , Lucius, don't tell me you wouldn't want to do the same if it was your own! Better he be taken there than wander the streets alone!"

"She's right," Father agreed making Grandfather sigh.

"This is very serious, and it could very much be a dead end. We don't know what's wrong with him. He might not even hold a proper conversation."

"But at least I'll know either way," Simon pointed out.

Grandfather nodded grimly. "I suppose so."

Simon's eyes lit up. "You'll take me then?"

"If you insist…" the man drawled, clearly not happy with the arrangement.

"I insist— You'll come with me, won't you?" Simon asked Scorpius with pleading eyes.

"I'll be right there beside you, tough guy."

*/*

White.

It was the only colour in the waiting room. White walls. White floors. White furniture. Even the pens they used to write with were white. It pierced the eyes almost painfully. Everything was too bright and shiny.

Everything except for the people. The receptionist was cold and distant. The head Healer also seemed a little off. He was the only one who worked there who wore colour, and it was black, an odd choice indeed.

"You'll have to pardon the lack of colour," the head Healer said, whose name was Healer Kalb. "Studies show white is a _calming_ colour— though it's not really a colour, is it? Just blank… like a sheet of _unused_ paper; not unlike the people here at all really."

Simon, Scorpius and Grandfather exchanged looks, finding the Healer's words insulting. Scorpius had a feeling that it was likely intended to be as much.

"Mr. Picket has been here for quite a while; seven years almost to the _date_. Quite a few of the patients who are sent here usually make a full recovery in a timely manner, but Picket here…" Healer Kalb paused, stopping at a door with a sign marked as "Picket". He took a wand out and waved it elegantly over the door knob. "Well, he's been just a bit… non- _compliant_ , I guess would be the appropriate word."

The door swung open to reveal a dark haired man sitting at a desk, muttering incoherent words under his breath. He was frantically writing on a large notepad.

"Picket, you have some visitors."

Mr. Picket stopped his writing and looked up. His chin trembled, and his hand did too. Rapid tapping sounds were heard as the tip of his quill struck against the desk's top.

"This is—"

"Simon," Mr. Picket croaked, standing from his seat. The quill was still held in his fingers. It shook slightly.

"You remember your son then?" Healer Kalb asked, somewhat surprised that he did.

Mr. Picket's thick eyebrows creased. He looked from the Healer to Simon, and he gave a nod. "Yes—Yes," he stuttered.

"Then you approve of these visitors?"

"Yes. Leave us, Healer Kalb. We will be…" Mr. Picket closed his eyes tightly, struggling with the last word. "F-F-Fine!"

"Alright, you know what to do if you have a problem." With that, Healer Kalb left them alone.

"You shouldn't be..." Mr. Picket had difficulties speaking, and he spoke slowly, struggling the entire time. "You shouldn't have come!"

Simon stepped forward, desperate to connect with the man who had once said he'd come back and get him. "I needed to see you. I needed to know why I was abandoned; what happened to you? Why are you like this, Dad?"

Pain filled Mr. Picket's eyes, and he frowned. The quill he had been gripping slipped from his fingers. His head shook gravely. "Please don't call me that," he whispered.

Scorpius felt a heat at his chest, and as Simon asked why he shouldn't call Mr. Picket his dad, Scorpius took out his amulet from under his shirt to see it slowly flashing. The green colour hit the white walls, turning them into the same green of the emerald gem that was encased into the amulet.

"Oh, no," Mr. Picket gasped. "No, no! You're _him_ , you're _the_ boy!" He backed away, panicstricken, and fell over the desk chair behind him. "Please go! Don't come back! Go away! Leave me be!"

"What are you talking about?!" Simon demanded in frustration.

Grandfather reached out to stop Simon from going any closer to the man who was pressing himself against the wall to create as much distance between them as he could.

"You must go! _Go_!" He thrust his hand out toward the desk, and his quill flew into his hand. He turned toward the wall, muttering words under his breath, scribbling away onto the surface of it. When he was through, he bunched himself up into a ball, quivering.

They read the messy scrawl that Mr. Picket had written:

_It is the scorpion that forges the path to end all magic._

"A prophecy," Simon breathed out, realizing what it was.

Scorpius stepped back, horrified. He stared at the words until they blurred into his mind. Until now, he had always thought he'd be some grand Healer in the future, but now, after reading those words, after Mr. Picket's reaction to the sight of his glowing amulet, he thought differently.

Could he actually be the end to all magic?

"Scorpius!"

Scorpius blinked, confused. Simon was gripping his arm tightly, shaking him. "I'm alright," he told him, massaging his forearm once Simon had released him.

"The amulet," Simon said. "It's glowing! You need to help my dad! You can save him!"

Simon was right. The prophecy had distracted him from his task. Scorpius hurried over to the man and set a hand to his head.

"No, boy, no! Don't touch me, please!" Mr. Picket pleaded. "Help! Healer Kalb, help me! He's got me! He's got me!"

"I'm only here to help you," Scorpius told him calmly. "This won't hurt a bit."

Grandfather barricaded the door with a spell to stop Healer Kalb from coming in the room while Scorpius worked his magic on the sick man. It wasn't an easy job, Picket mentally fought the whole time, neutralizing Scorpius's magic, making it difficult for him to concentrate and complete the curing. He was determined though. Simon needed his father. Simon couldn't go back to the Morgans.

Something flashed in Scorpius's head then, making him snap his hand away from the man. Scorpius swallowed hard, and Picket whimpered, pleading him with his quivering lip.

"I've got to!" he told the man, setting his hand back on the man's head.

" _Where is he, Janis?"_ a man's angry voice demanded in Scorpius's head. " _Where is the boy?" The man had darkish skin and curly hair. He advanced at the woman, a knife in his hand._

" _Gone!" Janis snapped. "And you're never going to find him— at least not until it's too late!"_

Scorpius stepped back when he was done, breathing in gulps of air, out of breath. He felt weak and depleted. He never had to work so hard to help someone before. He sat down on the floor to rest, watching Mr. Picket lay there, unmoving. His heart thrashed against his chest, scared of Mr. Picket's memory that he had seen.

"Is he…okay?" Simon asked with uncertainty.

All Scorpius had the energy to do was nod.

"Dad?" Simon inched forward. "Can you hear me?"

Mr. Picket lifted his head, giving Simon a confused look, but before he had a chance to say anything, the door flew right off its hinges, crashing against the wall across the room, merely missing Grandfather.

"We best be going," Grandfather drawled, eyeing the wand that was pointed at him.

"Who _are_ you?" Healer Kalb asked, narrowing his eyes threateningly.

"Oh, they're with me," a new voice said, stepping beside the Healer.

"Myal," Mr. Picket spoke out hoarsely.

"Hmm, I can see I'm a bit too late," Professor Williger noted, assessing the situation, eyes settling onto the words written on the wall. "How unfortunate."

Mr. Picket stood to his feet, clutching the quill in his hand. "What are you doing here?"

"I had a… _feeling_ that I was needed." The two men shared a look before directing their eyes to Simon.

"What is it?" the boy demanded. "What did you see?!"

" _Feel_ , Mr. Sirota," Professor Williger emphasized. "I _felt_ that I was needed; apparently I should have listened to my inner voice a bit sooner."

"I'm a _Picket_ ," Simon corrected him. He pointed at Mr. Picket. "That's my father. I'm no longer to be considered an orphan."

An awkward silence filled the room as the men looked back at each other. Picket gave a single nod and turned away as Williger pulled his wand out, shooting a spell off at Simon.

"Hey!" Scorpius shouted as his friend crumbled gently to the ground.

"Not to worry, lad, he'll be fine. It's time for you to leave now."

"Take Simon with you," Mr. Picket ordered weakly. "And _don't_ come back here."

"What are you hiding?!" Scorpius demanded. "Why don't you want to be with your son?! You'd rather he return to Muggles who will eventually _kill_ him because he's a wizard?! Because that's what's going to happen, Picket, that's what's going to happen if you—" Scorpius was silenced before he could say anything more.

"We are leaving now," Grandfather said, gathering the limp Simon into his arms. "We will not come back." A moment later, Scorpius felt a knot in his gut and the air was stolen from his lungs.

"Why?" he cried. "Why wouldn't he want to be with his son?!"

"I do not know, son," the elder man beside him said hopelessly, setting Simon onto a nearby sofa in Scorpius's home. "Staying there would have made things worse though."

"Simon is going to want answers." Scorpius looked over at his unconscious friend. Tears welled into his eyes. "They're going to send him back— he can't go back!"

"I warned you boys that this might have been a dead end, but Simon insisted that he see his father before I had the chance to do anything."

Scorpius set a hand to his friend's shoulder as he stirred awake. Simon rose up into a sitting position, looking around.

"I'm beginning to _really_ hate Williger!" he snarled through grit teeth.

"They knew each other," Scorpius said, remembering that tiny detail.

"They must be a part of the same circle."

"Or used to be before your dad was in the asylum."

Simon didn't say anything to that. He stared at the ground, brewing over his thoughts. "He doesn't want me," he finally said after a while. "That's why he never came back for me. I'm nothing to him anymore— why did he even make that bloody promise to come back for me if he didn't want me?!"

"Parents do strange things for the children they love," Grandfather told him. "Your father looked pained to see you. He was feeling guilt, there is more to his story than he's permitting us to know."

Simon crossed his arms and huffed. His eyes narrowed darkly. "It doesn't matter, if he doesn't want me, I certainly don't want him!" He then ran off upstairs.

"Let him be, Scorpius. He needs a few moments."

"Yeah," Scorpius agreed with his grandfather, feeling bad for his friend, but he knew no words would ease Simon's pain at the moment.

"What happened with Simon?" Talli asked during dinner that night. The meal had been quiet, and Simon hadn't joined them. She knew something had gone wrong.

No one was eager to answer her question. She looked from her parents to her brother, all of who had no appetite and hardly had eaten a thing.

"I'll just find out eventually," she said almost coaxingly. "Someone is going to slip up, and it's not really fair that I'm the _only_ one under this roof who doesn't know. I starting to feel compleyely excluded from this family."

Scorpius looked down at his plate, pushing around the green beans with his fork. "Grandfather found the whereabouts of Simon's father, but he sent us away when we went to go meet him."

"He sent his own _son_ away?!" Talli squeaked out. "Oh, how awful! No wonder Simon is so grumpy!" She silently ate a few bites of her lasagna before she said anything more.

"Well, forget him then! Simon doesn't need that twat!"

" _Talitha Jane_!" Mother chastised.

"We can be his family, can't we, Mum? Dad?" Talli continued as if her mother had not just scolded her. "Simon _needs_ us! _Why_ can't we his family? We're rich enough, and we have all kinds of room!"

"Because no one wants damaged goods, Talli."

Everyone turned their heads to see Simon in the doorway. Huldah was perched on his shoulder. Of course Scorpius and Simon were the only ones who could see her. Scorpius had to stop himself from asking when she had gotten back from her trip, she had been gone for days with no news.

"That's not true, sweety." Mother had stood up to address him, a frown pinned to her face.

"Definitely not," Father agreed.

"I didn't come down to argue." Simon looked directly at Scorpius. "We need to talk."

Scorpius knew that the Kuta had told him something, and he was curious what he could be.

"Come on," Scorpius gestured Simon to follow him up two cases of stairs. The family didn't use the third floor for anything, so it was a perfect place to hold a private conversation.

He stopped at the doorway of a random room, leaning up against it. "Stand there," he directed in front of him on the opposite side of the door jam. "This way when my noisy sister comes to listen on, we'll see her coming," he explained when Simon gave him a strange look.

"Right," Simon acknowledged.

"So?"

"Huldah says my dad is coming here tonight."

"Here? Why?"

"Your grandfather was right. He's hiding something, and I guess he's going to explain himself."

"Maybe he's feeling guilty for what he's done."

Simon shrugged. "She wants me to hear him out."

"You probably should," Scorpius reasoned.

"He's a bit mental though."

"He should be fine now," Scorpius told him. "I healed a lot of his issues."

Simon nodded, he looked away, staring off down the hallway. "I've been thinking a lot about his prophecy."

"Yeah…" Scorpius leaned up against the door jam. "Me too…"

"I think my future is going to be a mess."

"Why do you say that?"

"You remember the way Jacky acted after he read my palm? And the way he and Professor Williger looked at each other afterward? It's like they knew something. And then the same thing kind of happened today with my dad— somehow, I think they all know something is going to happen. I'm going to be some evil man or something."

Scorpius shook his head in denial. "It's not you. It's me."

Simon laughed derisively. "Not likely!"

"Think about it! First, Professor Williger comes up and says that he _expected_ trouble from me— remember the night when the Talonguard attacked? And then Trelawney warns you to stay away from _me_ , and today your dad writes a _prophecy_ about _me_! It all starts with me."

"But you're the product of true love, you can never be evil."

"But I'm not, tough guy, my parents love bond was created as soon as I was, they didn't love each other beforehand. _Talli_ is the product of love."

"It's us," Simon decided. "It's the _both_ of us."

"It can't be," Scorpius denied.

"Think about it: _everything_ that's happened, it's happened when we were together. Professor Williger's vague comments, the way he and Jacky acted at the meeting, my dad didn't want _neither_ of us there in his room. Our friendship is going to cause something massive, and they all know it."

Scorpius's eyes went out of focus as he thought back on everything that had happened when they were together. He found Simon's words to have some validity.

"What do we do?" he asked. "We have to do something."

"I don't know," Simon said with a shrug. "You're the one who usually has a plan."

"You're like a brother to me," Scorpius told him. "I'm not going to stop being your friend. We'll have to just work together and prevent whatever is supposed to happen."

"Through thick and then," Simon held out his hand for Scorpius to shake.

Scorpius took it. "No matter what."

"There you are!" Talli called from the down the hall, out of breath. "Your dad's here, Simon!"

Scorpius brought his free hand up to Simon's upper arm, tapping it against his friend. With a deep sigh, Simon released Scorpius from his hold and they followed Talli back down to the main level of the home.

Scorpius's parents, grandparents and Mr. Picket were sitting, sipping on freshly brewed tea. Mr. Picket stood up at the sight of Simon, and he gave him a tiny smile when his eyes flicked quickly to and from Huldah who stuck close to Simon's side.

"Hello."

"Hi, come to explain why you threw me away for the second time in my life?"

"Actually, yes, but there's a few things you also need to know, Simon." Mr. Picket's eyes shifted over to Scorpius. "Thanks to your friend's healing abilities, I've been able to function better."

"Excuse me?" Mother cut in. "Did you just say healing abilities?"

"Scorpius cured you?"

Scorpius suddenly felt uncomfortable with his parents' attention aimed at him. He looked at the floor of his feet. "I'll have to explain later…" he mumbled. That was a conversation he wasn't looking forward to.

"I was suffering from several things," Mr. Picket explained.

"Such as?" Simon pressed his father further, not willing to settle for a generalized explanation.

"Post traumatic stress, anxiety, depression and obsessive compulsiveness— or so that's what the Healers called it."

"Traumatic stress…" Scorpius said slowly, thinking about the memory he had earlier seen. "You witnessed her murder, didn't you?"

"Murder? Who's murder?" Mother asked.

"Simon's mother— Picket's wife—"

"Sister," Picket corrected Scorpius quietly. When the room was quiet waiting for him to go on, he added, "Your mother was my sister."

"That's _gross_!" Talli screeched. "You and your sister had a baby?! Ewww!"

"Oh, _Merlin_ ," Simon whispered, horrified. "I can't even…!"

"Oh, _wait_ , no, _no_!" Mr. Picket cried out. "I didn't mean it like _that_ —!" He put a hand to his head, shaking it, chuckling a little at the absurdity. "I _meant_ …" Picket sighed. "I'm sorry, Simon, but I'm not your father. I'm only your uncle."

"You're… not my dad?" Simon was confused. "But I remember you being my dad…?"

Mr. Picket smiled. "You were so cute when you were little; you started calling me daddy when you first started speaking words. Your mother felt it was fair, given I had been helping her raise you. Your real father skipped out, see, he thought you were…" He frowned, suddenly disturbed with his current thought. "He left when you were little, Simon. When your mother was murdered, there were rumors that her murderer would come after you, and since you showed no signs of magic, I thought you'd be safer with Muggles, especially since I was going through my own issues— I thought that once the threat was over, and when I got the help I needed, I could come back for you."

"Why would anyone want to kill us?"

Mr. Picket shook his head. "I don't know, Simon, I just don't know…"

"Was the murderer ever caught?"

"Sadly, no. He's still loose." Mr. Picket took a deep breath. "Which brings me to the second reason why I came here… Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, would you mind if we spoke privately?"

Talli snuck after them to go eavesdrop on the adults while Scorpius stayed behind with Simon so he could let the news sink in.

"I have so many unanswered questions," Simon said, looking down at his hands. "But now I'm pretty sure the inner eye is hereditary now."

Scorpius laughed. "It usually skips a generation or two."

Simon grunted. "I'm special, I guess."

"Maybe I can ask my…" Simon leaned back into his seat, crossing his legs. "I don't know what to call him anymore," he said sadly. "It would feel too weird to call him Dad now."

Scorpius nodded, agreeing.

" _Simon_!" Talli whispered, hurrying back on the tips of her toes so that the adults didn't know what she had been doing. "Simon, you're going to _live_ with us! _Permanently_! That man wants us to _adopt_ you!"


	15. One Secret's Out

"Mr. Picket, why don't you take Simon to live with you?"

Mr. Picket sighed at Hermione's question. He sat down in one of the chairs of her office that she used, the room that they had all piled up into.

"I have other duties to do. I cannot home a child right now."

"What duties are more important than your sister's son?" Draco asked. "The very same boy you once called your own."

"I have an important mission to finish."

Lucius stood by the doorway, quietly watching them speak, waiting to hear just how much Picket was going to unload onto his son and daughter-in-law. He was actually surprised that the man had used that word.

"Mission?" Draco asked, wrinkling his brows in thought. Lucius shifted his feet in anticipation. His son easily picked up on words. One must choose their words carefully around a Malfoy.

Then again, Hermione was no bloody idiot either.

"You're searching for your sister's murderer." She had given Picket no time to continue, needing nothing more to piece his puzzle together.

And in just moments, Lucius knew that Draco would figure out the other half of Picket's message.

Picket was an Unspeakable. At one time when he was a young man, he was a personal assistant to one of the Ministry's staff members. He had defended Lucius when he had been on trial after the second war. That had been nearly twenty years ago. Sometime between then and the murder of his sister, he had been promoted to an Unspeakable— something Lucius had been able to draw out of Picket when the man begged Lucius to take him to his nephew.

Lucius hadn't specifically known what Picket's mission was, but he wasn't oblivious to how Unspeakables work. He had been around several in his lifetime. There were very few who could get past his radar.

"You work for the Ministry, don't you?"

Picket lifted his chin a little, looking Draco directly in the eye. "My work life does not have room for a growing boy, but that is not the only reason I want you to adopt him. Your son said he could end up dead if Simon went back to the Muggles. Obviously, I don't want that, I'm not quite sure why that would be the case—"

"Simon has been severely abused, Mr. Picket."

" _Severely_ ," Draco stressed his wife's keyword.

Hermione's lips pursed. "There are horrendous marks on his body from it."

Picket looked like he was going to hurl. He gravely shook his head. "I should have been there for him…"

"You can now," Hermione pressed gently. "He needs you."

"He _can't_ be with me," Picket said firmly, almost troubled by the idea. His eyes sunk to the carpet flooring. "He can't." His voice lowered into a whisper.

Hermione sighed in exasperation. "Well, why not?!"

Picket wouldn't make eye contact with any of them. He tucked his hands between his knees. "My sister's murderer is still out there," he explained hollowly. "He's searching for Simon. He wants to get rid of him."

Picket had their undivided attention now, and even Lucius was intently interested in this horrifying news.

Picket's knees shook. "He won't stop until he finds him. I must get to him first— that's why I sent him off to the Muggles—to hide him— but now that Simon's back in _this_ world, he must be protected."

"I don't see how we can keep him safe and hidden," Lucius spoke up. "We are a very known family. Famous even."

"And infamous," Picket added simply, making Lucius narrow his eyebrows in offense, and he hurried on to explain, "I just mean, if the murderer ever finds out that you have Simon, he'd be too… _afraid_ to mess with your family— given your history."

"The Malfoys are different now," Hermione pointed out.

"But surely between you all, you know ways to protect him? Ancient magic, modern magic, _anything_?"

The three exchanged looks, unable to deny the man's claim. They each had a list of unlimited spells that could keep a little boy safe from harm.

"We could say he's the son of a long distance cousin of mine," Hermione offered.

"I know of a way to fudge the blood reading," Draco added after a thought.

"This feels oddly familiar," Lucius drawled. "I quite miss the feeling of doing something illegal."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "It's for a very good reason!"

Lucius smirked. "Just the same. It might _trigger_ me." Hermione could only roll her eyes at his joke.

*\\*

Scorpius was seated in his mother's office, finding it difficult to swallow under the looks of both his mum and dad. They had called them in there, and he knew exactly why.

"Mr. Picket said you healed him?" Mother was the first to speak. Judging by her tone, Scorpius could tell she doubted so.

"I assisted with it, yes."

"And how did you assist with it?"

"Well..." He wasn't sure where to start. How could he explain what he did when he himself didn't completely understand how he was able to cure people? "It's the amulet, you see."

"Anne Marie Green's?" his father cut in.

"Yes." Scorpius lifted it off of his neck and pulled the amulet over his head. He held it out for Father to look over.

"You believe it has healing attributes?" Mother asked while Father turned it over in his hands.

"I'm not sure anymore," Scorpius answered honestly. "It doesn't work with other people, only me, but I don't seem to possess the ability without it either. It's like we're... bonded somehow."

His mother wrinkled her nose. Clearly it was going to be hard to convince her. "And who have you healed, sweety?" she asked gently, almost as if she was treading carefully to not offend him.

"Several people."

"Can you name any of them?"

"That disgusting worm," Father said, deep in thought, keeping Scorpius from answering his mother.

"Excuse me?"

Father fingered the amulet. "He was just a toddler; we were at the Clippers, and there was that man with blue hair."

Scorpius eyes widened. He had forgotten about that guy! "Esav!"

"Yes, he had an itchy scalp, and Faucheux couldn't help him. But you... It was you, _you_ got that hideous worm out of his head!"

Scorpius nodded. "Yes, I remember..." He closed his eyes in an effort to see the memory better. "When I first seen him, I couldn't help him, and it was because I didn't have the amulet—I thought it was a necklace I needed at first. But as soon as I possessed the amulet, I knew."

"Then it wasn't Lucius..." Mother spoke up. "All those people he cured, it wasn't him..."

Scorpius laughed softly, amused that no one had figured it out until now. "Grandfather was in constant worry that someone would discover that. His healing abilities were completely baffling without any previous training. Then again, who would believe that a baby could heal what others couldn't?"

"And Mrs. Longbottom?" Mother asked, twitching her lips in anticipation. "Was that you too?"

Scorpius looked at his hands in his lap. "It was," he answered quietly. "I did try for Mr. Longbottom, but the amulet wouldn't light up for him..."

Mother crossed the room to brush the hair from his eyes. She bent over and kissed the top of his head. "I'm so sorry. That must have been so discouraging."

"I tried all that I could— honest! Life is just so unfair!"

"I know, baby," she murmured, hugging him. "That's all you can ever do is your best."

"Sometimes it doesn't feel good enough."

"If you have helped just one person live a better life, chomper, than you have accomplished more than half of the world's population ever will," Father added his thought. He held out the amulet for Scorpius to take back. "From the moment I saw you, I knew you'd be something magnificent. You are an amazing young man, and I— _we—_ " He and his wife exchanged smiles. "—are _incredibly_ proud of you."

Scorpius heaved out a sigh. "You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that. I was afraid you'd think I was crazy!"

"It's an _extremely_ rare gift," his mother pointed out. "But not non-existent. I'd believe you over Lucius any day— not that he's a bad man, it's just, he's a grown man, if he had had the gift, it would have been apparent when he was much younger."

"Then why didn't you think that before?"

Mother shrugged. "He's mysterious, I just thought maybe he was working on some experimental potions— he was completely secretive about it. Now I know why."

"We'll keep this to ourselves, alright?" Father said seriously. "My father was right to keep your gift hidden."

Scorpius nodded. He thought about telling them about his inner-eye gift too but decided to wait for another day. It'd be harder to convince them that he had _two_ rare gifts.

If it wasn't for Huldah's presence, Scorpius wouldn't have believed it himself.

*\\*

"About that prophecy," Lucius stopped Picket from leaving the Manor after they had returned from his son's home.

"Prophecy?"

"The one you wrote on the wall."

Picket's head gave one slow nod. His eyes went out of focus. Lucius knew that look all too well; occlumency. "What about it?" he asked.

"It involves my grandson. I would like to know more about it."

The man brought his brown eyes up to meet Lucius's. "There is no hidden meaning behind it. He is the beginning to the end."

"Of magic?"

Picket's lips twitched nervously. "Of everything."

" _Everything_?" Lucius questioned coldly.

Picket stepped back at the change his of tone. "Well, _possibly_ everything," he added. "I'm not too sure… it's unclear. That's the thing about visions—"

"Yes, I know," Lucius interrupted, slightly annoyed over Picket's unclear vision. "I took Divinations."

Picket was surprised to hear about this. "You did?"

Lucius inclined his head slightly. "Some of us still have faith in the gift. Though, I found the class quite useless for me."

"You did? Why was that?"

"I do not possess the gift."

"Ah. It is not something that can be developed through tutoring."

"Sadly not."

*/*

"How are you doing?"

Scorpius and Simon looked up to see Hermione at the doorway to their room. Scorpius offered to share his room with Simon. There were plenty of spare rooms for him, but with Simon's sleeping issues, it was better this way.

"We're alright, Mother," Scorpius spoke up quietly when Simon said nothing. "Thanks for asking."

"If you need anything, just let us know, okay?" She was looking at Simon when she said this. Mother was trying hard to make him feel comfortable. That would take time though. Simon didn't know what to feel at the moment, and he hadn't said much since Picket had said he would have to stay with the Malfoys until his mission was complete.

Simon only nodded. He was shuffling his Tarot cards, eyes uneasily returning to the moving cards.

"Good night, Mother," Scorpius bid, signaling for her to leave them be.

"Night, sweety." She blew him a kiss before darting her eyes worriedly over to the dark headed boy.

"You can read me my cards, if you want," Scorpius offered after his mother left them for the night. He positioned himself in front of his friend who sat on the floor with crossed legs.

Simon looked up at the light above them, blinking back a tear. He was trying not to cry. "I don't feel like it," he whispered, unable to fully speak with his voice.

They sat there in silence for a few moments. Scorpius couldn't think of anything to say, and Simon didn't seem like he wanted to say anything.

"Maybe it's just best to focus on the better things that will come out of this," Scorpius suggested after a while.

Simon began shuffling the cards again. "Like what?" He sounded like there wasn't a thing in the world to look forward to.

"Well," Scorpius gave it a thought as Simon spread out the cards face down between them so that Scorpius could take his pick from the stack. "You're rich now."

Simon scoffed, finding the statement ridiculous. "It's not _my_ money!"

"Sure it is! You're part of my family now. _My_ money is _your_ money!"

" _You_ don't have money, sunshine, your _parents_ have money."

"And one day, it'll be mine— besides, I _have_ earned some of my own money before."

"Oh, is that so?" Simon challenged doubtfully.

"Sure." Scorpius shrugged. "Before school, when I healed people, my grandfather got a wage for it, we didn't keep it though. We donated it."

Simon's eyes rolled. "What a surprise. What'd you donate it to?"

"The Magical Medical Research Agency. It's genuine, you know. They have all of the best medical professionals from around the world, and they have come up with hundreds of cures."

"Such as?"

"Wipple poisoning."

"Wipple?" Simon's eyebrows wrinkled. "What's a wipple?"

"It's a plant that excretes poisonous _pollen_."

Simon appeared alarmed. "Poisonous pollen? Sounds incredibly deadly."

"It is, or it was. Now they've developed a potion that _protects_ you against it!"

"Well, congratulations to them— You got the Healer again," Simon announced, speaking about the Tarot cards. "But that's nothing unusual, right?"

Scorpius smiled. The Healer _did_ always come up whenever Simon did his reading. "What do you feel about it today?"

"You are about to experience a change with your personal life. You should seek help from an experienced individual about it."

The boys shared a smile before they called it quits for the night.

*/*

Scorpius followed a pounding sound, shuffling carefully through hundreds of frogs that were crowding the floor beneath him. He wasn't afraid of frogs, but their constant croaking and hopping made him a little edgy. The frogs weren't completely to blame for this though. Something felt strange. And for some reason, his heart was thrashing against his chest as he carefully made each step. He knew he had to get to the source of the pounding, but he felt something terrible would happen if he stepped onto one of the frogs.

The hair on the back of his neck stood up suddenly, and he stopped in his tracks at the sound of a hinge creaking. The pounding stopped.

Up ahead, a wooden coffin appeared, propped up against a wall. Heavy breathing came from it. Quick and shallow, loud breaths. Scorpius stared at it, holding his own breath, afraid of what was going to pop out of it.

But only a quiet whimper escaped from the coffin. And at that moment, Scorpius knew exactly what was going on.

He woke up instantly, tossing the blankets off of him, running over to a crying Simon.

"No! Dont!" the boy was wailing out in his sleep. "I can't!" His hair was soaked with sweat.

"Simon!" Scorpius set a hand to his shoulder, shaking the boy to wake him. "Wake up!"

Simon's eyes flew open. He bolted up and wrapped his arms around Scorpius's waist, squeezing him into a tight hug, sobbing. His entire body shook against Scorpius's, and an odor that was beginning to become all too familiar to Scorpius invaded his nose.

"I'm sorry," his friend whispered after a few moments, releasing his hold, realizing what he had done. "I wish I can—"

"It's not your fault," Scorpius told him, stepping away from the bed so that Simon could get out of his soiled clothes. "It's their fault. For doing those horrible things to you."

Simon scratched at his bare arm, looking down at a round burn scar. "The frogs… I couldn't make them go away…"

"I know…"

"The Morgans got mad…"

"Yeah…"

Simon shook his head, as if attempting to make the awful memory go away. He slipped out of the wet bed and went to the dresser that had been placed into the room for his own use. He got out a change of clothes while Scorpius stripped the bed and stuffed the bedding into a hamper.

By the time Simon returned from the bathroom, Scorpius had fresh sheets and blankets on the bed.

"I won't be able to go back to sleep," Simon announced. "Not after that."

"Me neither," Scorpius chimed. The image of Mrs. Morgan attempting to make a young Simon's magic go away with a cattle prong was forever going to haunt him.

"Wait… _what_?" James Potter asked a month later. He, Scorpius, Simon and Edgar were grouped up at a picnic bench. It was Scorpius's birthday, and they were taking a break from the Quidditch game they had been playing.

"His last name isn't really his last name," Edgar tried to clarify what Simon had just announced.

"How can that even be?"

"Sirota isn't a real last name. It was given to me when I was dropped off at the orphanage. It's kind of like Jane Doe or John Smith."

James gave Simon a blank look. "Jane Doe?"

"A common name given to a person whose name is unknown."

"I happen to know a girl who is named Jane Doe," James informed. "And she's not that name because she had no name. The family name goes back several generations."

Simon groaned, covering up his ears in exasperation. "Never mind! I don't know how else to explain it!"

"His birth name is Simon Green, but because he was dropped off at an orphanage, no one knew his last name, and so they called him Sirota." Scorpius made an attempt.

"Why did they name him that?"

"Because Sirota means _orphan_!"

The table got real quiet after Simon's impatient outburst. When James suggested that they go back to playing, Simon refused to return to it. Scorpius hung back with his friend.

"I know you're not upset with James."

"No, I'm not."

"He probably thinks he upset you though."

"I just… _hate_ my life."

"You're confused right now and going through changes."

"You sound like my old teacher when he started talking about puberty," Simon grumbled.

"I can't imagine what you're going through, tough guy." Scorpius sighed, feeling helpless. "But we're all your friends, even if you have a different surname."

Simon's shoulders slumped. He inhaled a deep breath. "I have ruined your birthday, haven't I?"

Scorpius smiled. "Absolutely not! I'm glad you're here."

"You're too nice, Scorpius."

"And in just a few days, you and I will be related by law!"

Simon snorted. "Second cousins twice removed, that's hardly anything to rejoice about."

"It still counts!"

"You are such a ray of sunshine."

"Probably why you have nicknamed me sunshine, hmm?"

"Exactly why."

"Come on!" Scorpius stood up from the bench, pulling Simon up with him. "Get back up there and play some Quidditch. Go on! Kick Talli in the tail! She's making your team lose!"

Simon's head tilted up toward the game, and he bit his lip, seeing the girl dart around players just as graceful and quick as a Snitch would. "She's amazing, your sister."

"Yeah," Scorpius agreed, grinning at her goal point and the cheers of her teammates that followed.

"I don't think James has a chance up against her."

"Not a one."

"Well, he'll have one more year of glory before she takes his spot on the team."

"That's _if_ she gets into Gryffindor," Scorpius pointed out.

Simon chuckled. "She's _so_ Gryffindor, sunshine."

"You don't think she'll be Slytherin?"

Their eyes met seriously, Simon taken back by Scorpius's inquiry, surprised that Talli's own brother doubted that she'd be sorted into Gryffindor. He shook his head, spreading his lips out into a smirk. "She's too much like your mum, sunshine— too bold, furious; takes too many risks. Just look at her!"

Scorpius had never given it much thought before now, since Talli had been considered a Squib for so long now. He watched his little sister dodge a number of attacks before she made another goal. She was the star of the match, there was no doubt in that. He couldn't help agreeing with his friend. Talli was completely a Gryffindor, whether she knew it or not, but until she was actually sorted, no one would honestly know.

He grew excited at the thought of his sister sitting up in front of the entire school, fidgeting under the oversized Sorting Hat— the girl had trouble sitting still for any length of time. He really couldn't wait for that night to come. It would be one of her favourites for quite a long time.

Later that night, they went to a formal banquet that Grandmother hosted. Simon had never been in dress robes before, and he was constantly squirming in them.

"It's like it's sucking me in!" he hissed to Scorpius, pulling at his collar. "And I look incredibly stupid in this— do I look stupid?! I look really stupid!"

"You look fine," Scorpius assured him, hiding a smile. "Great even!" He stepped closer to Simon, whispering "I think you've even got an admirer…"

Simon turned his head to see a girl from Ravenclaw who was in their same year. She wore a green body-length dress, and her eyes faltered when Simon caught her staring.

" _Lovely_ ," he grumbled. "Just what I need!" He started stalking toward the exit of the ballroom.

"Where are you going?!" Scorpius went after him.

"I'm not spending one more second in these— these… _rags_!"

"Is it really such a big deal that you look so nice in them? So what if the girls think you look nice."

Simon stopped in his tracks and whipped around to face Scorpius. "I'm not interested in _girls_!"

Scorpius stepped back. "Well, no one is saying you have to marry one right now. It's just one dance."

Simon scoffed. "I don't even know _how_ to dance!"

"Oh, that's no good." Scorpius shook his head. "If you're going to live with us, you must learn to dance— even if it's just the simple two step. Here, I'll show you." He reached for Simon, but his friend ducked out of the way.

"We can't do that _here_!"

"Why not?"

"People will think we're…" Simon lowered his eyes to the ground.

"Oh, you mean the two-guys-dancing thing?"

Simon nodded. "Yeah, that."

"Actually, that's not as big as a deal as you're thinking. My own father taught me how to dance; he's better at it than my mum."

"I'm sure he didn't teach you around a crowd of people!"

"No, but our pictures did get in the paper. It's really okay, besides they'll just think we're fooling around— we're kids, what do they care?"

Simon's face wrinkled. "I'd rather you teach me later."

"Fine then, whatever is comfortable for you."

"Scorpius!" Talli called out, bounding over to him. "Hey, you should ask Vanity to dance with you!"

"Why her?"

"Be _cause_ she wants to dance with _you_!"

Scorpius searched the crowd for his godsister. "Where is she?"

" _VANITY_!" Talli shouted, making Scorpius wince. She flailed out her hands, waving at the girl. " _Get over here_!"

The shy girl took her time to approach them and mumbled a hello to Scorpius.

"You want to dance?"

Vanity smiled at Scorpius's question. "I would love to, thank you."

"I'll be back in a few," Scorpius told Simon who nodded acknowledgingly. He lead Vanity out into the dance area. "Which dance would you like to do?" he asked her.

"The Foxhop?"

Scorpius raised his eyebrows. "You know that one?" It was only six months ago that she struggled with the Foxtrot. This one was more difficult, a twist to the classic.

"Yeah, I've been practicing," she told him quietly.

"This song might be a little slow for that," Scorpius advised her.

"That's okay!" She placed her arm on his shoulder. "I'm sure we can figure it out."

"Actually," Scorpius said after they had been dancing through a minute of the song, "You're pretty good at this!" He lifted her up a couple of inches from the floor for the "hop" part of the dance, making her giggle.

"You're _amazing_ ," she complimented.

"Thank you, but I've been doing this since I was four."

Vanity wore a smile. "Yeah," was all that she said.

After the song, they bowed out and thanked each other for the dance.

"You remember how you said that I had an admirer?" Simon asked him when Scorpius returned.

"Did you talk to her?"

"No, this isn't about _her_ — Vanity _admires_ you."

Scorpius grinned. "She likes my dancing."

"It's not just your dancing, sunshine. That girl can't stop staring at you."

"What?" Scorpius laughed. "That's silly! She's like my sister."

"I don't think she thinks of you as a brother."

Scorpius glanced over at Vanity who was in giggles with Talli and Lily. He shook his head. They were just being girls. Simon didn't know what he was saying.

"Now what about Gale?" He changed the subject back to the Ravenclaw girl.

Simon groaned. "Enough about her already!"

*/*

"Holy fish tails!" Simon gasped, using Edgar's phrase of shock. The spoon that he had been holding clanked into his bowl of cereal. " _Scorpius_ —!"

Scorpius uprooted from his seat across from Simon and made his way around the table to read over a headline in _The Daily Prophet_ that had caused Simon to burst out.

"You have _got_ to be _kidding_ me!" Scorpius's jaw dropped.

"I _know_!"

"But _how_?!"

"What _is_ it?!" Talli asked, feeling left out of the conversation. She was the only other person seated at the table; their parents had left them alone for the morning, each having to run errands for their jobs.

"Professor Lockberry is returning for a _second_ year!" Simon informed her.

Talli's eyebrows lifted up slowly. "So…?" She didn't understand the big deal in that.

"How is she not _fired_?!" Scorpius wailed out in disgust, his eyes glaring at her gloating smile in the picture that was on the front page.

"Well, the school hasn't seen such high Potions scores in years," Simon explained after he scanned over the article.

"That's not because of _her_!" Scorpius screeched.

Talli looked at her brother with wide eyes. He rarely ever raised his voice. "What's wrong with her?"

"She knows absolutely _nothing_ about Potions!" Scorpius huffed.

"If that was true, why would they hire her?"

"She's really good at faking it," Simon said.

Talli rolled her eyes. "How can you _fake_ Potions?"

"She gives inaccurate information and refuses to accept the truth!"

"Scorpius has been in many detentions over school work that she deems fiction."

"She needs to spend a good _year_ in the library!"

"How did you score so high, if she said your work was false?"

"Thankfully, a _different_ professor held our end of the year exams."

Talli shrugged. "Guess we better hope for that again, huh? Mum and Dad won't settle for average scores."

"Tell me about it! I stressed half the year over it!"

"Oh, Merlin!" It was Talli's turn to gasp out. "I remember that now! You had some sorry-looking grades! Weren't you failing in everything? That couldn't have been because of just one professor."

Simon and Scorpius exchanged looks before they went back to their breakfast, choosing to ignore Talli's question.

Her lips pressed together in annoyance. Ever since Scorpius had met Simon, she felt like her brother was always hiding something from her.

She vowed to find out what their secret was.

" _EVERYBODY_!" Talli screeched, hopping out of bed. " _GET UP_!" She raced to her parents room, flying into their bed, landing between them. "Mum! Dad! I get to go to _HOGWARTS_ today!" she squealed.

Dad groaned out something, squinting his eyes at the clock on his cubby. He mumbled some words about it being "too early".

" _Daddy_!" She shook him awake. "We won't see each other again for _four_ months!" She got both their attention with that.

Mum gasped. "Oh, Merlin!" she groaned. "She's right!" She rolled over, causing Talli to plow into her dad, tossing the blankets off her.

Dad took Talli into a lazy hug. "Four months seems like a long time, you sure you're ready for this?"

She tapped his cheek, giggling. "I'll be fine, Daddy."

He frowned. "You know, if she was Squib, we wouldn't be saying goodbye to her today," he said to Mum who was on her way to the bathroom.

"And who wanted her to be a witch?"

"Point taken." He kissed Talli on the forehead. "Go get dressed, princess, we'll be out in a few."

Talli leaped off of the bed, singing, "I'm going to Hogwarts! I'm going to Hogwarts!" as she skipped out of the room.

Talli was itching with excitement when they stepped onto Platform ¾, but when Mum said it was time to say their goodbyes, Talli's excitement kindled. It finally hit her that she wouldn't get to see her Mum and Dad for several months. She pressed into their group hug, choking down a sob, breathing in each of their scents, trying to memorize them.

As much as she wanted to go to Hogwarts, she also wanted to stay with them. It'd be a while before she'd hear her daddy call her princess, and Mummy wouldn't be there to make her warm milk when her tummy was upset.

Mum's lips pressed onto Talli's head. "You be good, sweety," she murmured. "Mind your professors. Study hard."

"I will," Talli promised.

"You'll be alright, Tallistar," Dad told her quietly. His voice was shaky.

Talli sniffed and pulled from her parents, taking a deep, brave breath. "Yes, I'll be more than fine. I'll be the best witch in the whole school— just like Mummy was."

Mum laughed. There were tears in her eyes. "You surely will."

"You'll be even better because you're my daughter too!"

Talli beamed at her father. She took another deep breath before stepping back and letting her brother say his own goodbyes.

"Oi, Talli!" Lily called her over, she was with her brothers on their way to board the _Hogwarts Express_. "Can you _believe_ we're actually here?" She asked when Talli met up with her.

"It's surreal!"

"Let's sit together!"

"Did you think I was going to sit with _strangers_?!" Talli teased. "Of course we're sitting together!" And without even thinking of looking back, the two girls got onto the train and found themselves a compartment to spend the travel in.

*/*

"You alright?" Hermione asked, looping her arm around Draco's. The train had long disappeared, and he hadn't moved.

"Our last child just left the nest," he said, unblinking.

"They'll be back!" But she couldn't help herself looking toward where the train was no longer sitting, feeling the same way he did. "You're acting like we just married her off!"

Draco snorted and turned around on his heel. "My princess is never getting _married_!"

Hermione laughed. "You know very well that you have no say in that."

His lips poked out, depressed with the thought. "Unfortunately," he grumbled. "So… what do we do now?"

Hermione glanced at her watch. "Well, I've got a meeting to get to. The House Elf Union is planning a strike soon."

" _Wait_ , did you just say a strike?"

She smirked. "Yes, a strike. For an entire week."

"And Toogy is part of that union thing..."

"She is."

Draco looked panicstricken. "Then that means—"

"You'll be doing all the housework for a week."


	16. The Illeist

A scrawny boy with brown hair approached the doorway of Lily and Talli's compartment. "Well, _hello_ , pixies! You lovely things wouldn't mind if Stuart sits with you?"

"Who's Stuart?" Lily asked.

"That'd be the boy you're talking to right now," he said, stepping inside. "Stuart would be honored to ride with you." He took a seat on the bench across from them. "His name is Stuart McBlythe. Pleased to meet you. What can Stuart call you lovely pixies?"

Talli raised an eyebrow, sending Lily a look. Lily politely stretched out her arm to shake Stuart's hand. "I'm Lily Potter, and this is my friend Talli Granger-Malfoy."

"Do you often refer to yourself in third person?" Talli wondered, not even greeting him.

"Speaking about oneself tends to sound a wee bit vain. Stuart finds it less egocentric to self-talk."

"I've actually heard the opposite," Talli said. "Those who use illeism tend to be quite a bit more egotistical."

Stuart's face went blank. "Stuart disagrees with you. He would never boast about himself. He is impressed that you know a little about illeism, even if your information is a wee bit on the false side."

Talli shrugged indifferently. "I'm just telling you what I heard."

"Stuart believes you heard wrong."

Lily shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "I'm not even sure what illeism is."

"It's the act of referring to yourself in third person," Talli explained. "It's as if he's speaking about a completely different person besides himself. It's very annoying— do you really do this all the time or are you just yanking our legs?"

"This is how Stuart usually talks, yes."

Talli shifted her eyes. "Well, then I hope we're sorted into different houses."

"Talli!" Lily scolded her. "Don't be rude!"

"She's being honest," Stuart said with smile. "Stuart likes honesty."

"Oh, would you please stop that?!" Talli demanded.

"Stop what?" he asked innocently. It was like he truly didn't know how annoying he was!

"Stop referring to yourself as Stuart! You sound like a bloody house elf!"

"Stuart cannot. It is just the way he speaks."

"This is going to be a _long_ ride!" Talli groaned, leaning back and covering her eyes up with her hand.

It wasn't as painful as she thought it was going to be though. Scorpius came by with Simon, Edgar and a couple of their housemates, Dallas and Warren, two boys neither Lily nor Talli had met before. They seemed friendly enough. The topic of Professor Lockberry came up, and each voiced their disgust with the Potions Master.

Lily grimaced. "My brothers told me all about _her_. She sounds _completely_ horrid! I think Potions is going to be my least favourite class."

"I think she could possibly be worse than Snape," Edgar said. "And my dad has told me how nasty he was."

"But he was a hero in the end," Scorpius pointed out.

"Maybe Lockberry's undercover, like Snape was. She might be this insanely nice woman who cherishes children, but she's forbidden to express it."

"Your imagination is as big as James's swelled head," Edgar told his cousin.

"Hey, it could happen!" Lily defended her claim. "You never know."

"Stuart has faith in his professors. His professors have never failed him yet."

"Who's Stuart?" Dallas asked, momentarily stepping into the room so that someone in the hall could squeeze by them.

" _He's_ Stuart." Talli rolled her eyes. "Stuart is a little… _different_." She sent him a fake smile. "He says his own name a _little_ too often, referring to himself."

"Stuart doesn't mind if you call him weird. You are free to call him that if that's what you think of him."

The group of second year boys didn't stick around much after that.

"Do you normally scare people off so quickly?" Talli directed at Stuart.

"It's okay to be _different_ ," Stuart stressed, purposely using her word against her. "It's eccentric, and there's nothing wrong with that." He put his chin up in the air.

"I have to use the loo," Talli announced, getting up. "Come on, Lily."

" _I_ don't have to go!"

Talli tossed her head toward the door, raising her eyebrows at her friend. "Didn't we say we'd sit with your brothers—" She didn't get anything more out. Lily's brothers appeared right at the door. Talli groaned outwardly and plopped herself back down next to Lily.

"We wanted to see how you're faring," Albus said to Lily. "Make sure no one was roughing you up— not that you couldn't handle your own— guess we're just here to make sure you don't get into trouble before you even make it to the castle."

"I'm doing alright," she assured him. "No fights yet."

"They dock points for cowlicks, you know," James added, teasing Lily about her hair.

"Oh, god!" Lily frantically pulled out a compact mirror. "I should have known it was a trick!" she snapped when she learned that her hair was in perfect order.

James burst out into laughter. "You really need to relax. Everything will be fine!"

"She's going to rearrange your face one of these days," Albus warned him as they walked away.

"You're going to have to do that," Talli said to Lily. "Put his mouth where is nose is, that'd look really funny!"

Lily's brown eyes lit up at the thought. "Oh, he can be my very own, life-like Mr. Potato Head!"

Vanity slipped in soon after the boys left. She went to take a seat but stopped when she saw Stuart.

"Oh another pixie!" Stuart greeted warmly. "Hi, beautiful! What's your name?"

Vanity's lips spread out into a shy smile. "I'm Vanity," she answered with a voice just slightly above a whisper.

Talli pushed at Lily. "Budge up," she ordered. "So Vanity can sit next to me."

"No way! There's not enough room! I don't want to be smashed into the wall!"

"Vanity can sit next to Stuart." Stuart tapped the seat next to him, scooting over to his right, making room for her. "He don't mind at all."

"And you're Stuart then?" Talli wrinkled her nose as Vanity took his offer and spoke to the weird boy as if he was normal.

"Yes, Stuart McBlythe is his full name," he said, taking her hand and pecking it with his lips ever so lightly. "Pleasure to meet you, Vanity."

"Such a gentleman," Vanity complimented, bashfully tucking her hand between her knees, hiding it.

"Stuart's parents taught him good manners."

Vanity didn't seem one bit bothered with Stuart's speech issue. She didn't appear to even notice it, but then again, Vanity was too polite to say anything about it.

Hours later, Talli stood with the rest of the first years, waiting to be called up for her sorting. Her stomach had hundreds of butterflies fluttering around in it. She waved to her brother and Simon when she saw them at the Slytherin table, momentarily easing her anxiousness.

Vanity got sorted into Hufflepuff. The girl was so nervous, she tripped on her way to the Hufflepuff table, but thankfully she caught her balance. A girl a few years older than Vanity got up from where she sat and tapped her shoulder soothingly. She had Vanity sit next to her.

Talli walked calmly to the stool after her name was finally called out, and she climbed up onto it. Professor McGonagall set the Sorting Hat on her head and all went black.

" _Oh, definitely... GRYFFINDOR_!" the Sorting Hat said, wasting no time at all.

There were cheers, and Talli grinned with pride, hopping off of the stool. Talli did a pirouette to show her gratitude for her sorting. The clapping and cheers increased because of her showmanship, and she curtsied her 'audience' before taking a seat at the Gryffindor table.

 _Her_ house _,_ she thought, satisfied with it. She had known she'd be Gryffindor for a while now. Obviously there were familiar faces— mainly involving the Weasleys, but there were _loads_ of people at her table. It was pretty crowded. Whenever a new Gryffindor was sorted, they had to make room for them.

Talli cringed when Stuart was sorted into Gryffindor. Her luck must have been on vacation today.

Lily was also sorted into Gryffindor. Talli cheered as loud as the rest of her house mates. Lily ran to her, squealing with glee. "I was so scared I wouldn't get into Gryffindor!"

After the sorting, and when the food had 'magically' appeared, Vanity came up, looking a little sad. It didn't occur to Talli until right then that she had been split from her only friends. Talli stood up, hugging her godsister. "You're going to be okay," she said into her ear.

"I don't know anyone in Hufflepuff, and now, I'm going to be left out! You and Lily will be best friends, and I'll always be a third wheel!"

"You will _not_!" Lily huffed and wrapped her arms around them both. "We'll be best friends, _always_!"

"Thanks you guys!" Vanity sniffed out in a flood of relief.

"Stuart will be your friend too, pixie."

Talli squirmed away from the boy who joined in on the group hug. She sent him a glare which he didn't seem bothered by.

"Really, Stuart?" Vanity asked to be sure. "That's so nice of you!"

"Yeah, you are really nice, Stuart!"

Talli tapped her foot impatiently when Lily put her arm around Stuart's shoulder as if they've been friends for centuries.

"You don't have to be shy, Talli," Stuart said, motioning her to get back in the circle.

"I'm fine right here, thank you." He was a little overbearing for her taste.

"I guess we're rivals now," her brother's voice said behind her.

Talli laughed, happy to see Scorpius. "Yeah, I guess so," she said. "But we've never had that sibling rivalry thing before, better late than never, huh?"

Scorpius smiled. "Congratulations, Tallistar. Simon was pretty sure you'd be a lion."

"I've known for a while now— I mean, I had _hoped_ I would be sorted into Gryffindor."

"Least we're even."

"Even?"

"Yes, two lions, two snakes."

"Oh! Yeah, how about that!" She had never even thought of her home being divided into two.

After the dinner, they were escorted to their common room. It had been a long climb, and by the time they reached their room, they were all ready to sleep.

Transfigurations was the first class that Talli was going to have, but unfortunately thanks to one specific illeist, she was ten minutes late for it.

It started when Lily had announced that she had forgotten a book up in their dorm room, and so she ran back up to get it. This meant that Talli was left alone to walk with Stuart (who she had nicknamed 'The Pest'). He had practically been stalking Lily and Talli all morning, and Talli had been unsuccessful with shaking him off.

"Stuart's been reading about Transfigurations. He's got a lot to learn though. Maybe you can be his partner."

"Lily will be my partner," Talli told him. "We've been friends since we were babies. We're practically sisters. Our parents are friends; Harry Potter and Hermione Granger."

"Oh, Stuart has never heard of them."

Talli's jaw dropped. "You haven't heard about Harry _Potter_?!"

He shook his head. "Was he a famous Quidditch player?"

Talli tossed her head back, baffled at his question. "He was our hero! He saved the Magical world from Voldemort— well he and dozens of others, my mother being one, but he's _the_ hero!"

"Who was Voldemort?"

"How can you not know this—" Talli deadpanned, sucking in a breath and covering her mouth with a hand. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have— Oh, Merlin's beard, I'm such an idiot!"

"Stuart is confused, but he knows you're not an idiot."

"You're Muggleborn."

"No, Stuart was born to a witch."

Talli's arms flopped down to her sides. "Then how do you not know Harry Potter?!"

"Stuart's mum doesn't read the paper. She doesn't support the media. She isn't from this region of the world, it is hard for her to understand. "

"And your father?"

Stuart looked straight ahead. He stiffened up a little. "Stuart never knew his father."

"Oh." Talli went quiet, keeping her next question to herself, not wanting to further upset him.

"What's that?" Stuart pointed up ahead in the corridor. An object was bouncing off one wall to the next, heading toward them. With each bounce, its speed increased.

"It's a… vase!" _Why was there a vase crashing down the corridor?_

"I'll stop it!" Stuart removed his wand, pointing at it.

"Maybe you should leave—" Talli didn't get a chance to tell him that probably wasn't a good idea. A spell shot out of his wand and hit the vase, but all the spell did was ricochet off it and smack Talli right in the nose.

She screamed out in pain and instantly noticed that she was bleeding from whatever she had been struck with.

"You bloody _imbecile_!" she cried out. " _Why_ did you do _that_?!"

Stuart sucked in a breath, feeling guilty for what he had done. "Stuart is so sorry! He'll help you, let him look at it!"

"Don't touch me!" she snarled, smacking away his hand. "You touch me, and your nose will match mine!"

"Okay, okay! Stuart will keep his hands to himself! Don't hurt him! He really is sorry!"

 _Well, this is turning into a wonderful school year,_ Talli grimly thought as she took the next left that she came across. Her blood dripped onto the floor with every step she took.

"Miss Granger-Malfoy and Mr. McBlythe, glad to see you've finally joined us. Did you get lost?"

"I know my way around perfectly fine, thank you," Talli told Professor McGonagall steadily, sending The Pest a nasty glare.

"Stuart is sorry, ma'am. He accidently made Talli's nose bleed. Stuart went with her to the infirmary to make sure she was okay."

The professor slightly tilted her head, somewhat puzzled by Stuart but quickly recovered. She pointed to two empty seats up at the front of them room. "Take your seats now. Fifty points will be removed from Gryffindor for Mr. McBlythe and Miss Granger-Malfoy's tardiness.

Talli avoided the beady eyes of Professor McGonagall's and hastily made her way to one of the empty chairs.

"We are turning matches into a needles today." The professor pointed to a blackboard. "The rest of the class has already copied down the laws of Transfigurations. You best hurry to catch up, we aren't pausing for you."

"Stuart can help you with the spell," the boy whispered to Talli after she had finished copying down what had been on the blackboard.

Talli ignored him. She didn't even want to see his face. Talli didn't like Stuart McBlythe. He was already a pest before, but now he had gotten her into trouble on her very first day at Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall probably thought she was a slacker.

No, it'd be best if she just pretended that he didn't exist.

"Would you look at this," McGonagall called out. She stood near Stuart, holding something shiny up to the light. "I haven't seen such a transfigure in years. Ten points to Mr. McBlythe for a perfect transfiguration!"

Talli put her head into her hand, tapping her wand against the top of her desk, annoyed with Stuart for his progress. _She_ hadn't even gotten the wood of the match to change colour!

"Stuart told you he has been practicing Transfigurations," he murmured next to Talli. "He offered to help, but you wouldn't accept it."

"Shut up!" she hissed. "Shut up before I charm your lips together!"

*/*

Simon stopped at the door to the Potions dungeon. "Well," he said, unable to gather up anything more to say.

"This is it," Edgar said, inhaling deeply, preparing for the worst. "Another year with Professor Hag."

"If she hears you say that, we're all in trouble," Scorpius advised. "I'll agree though," he added quickly.

"Let's get this over with," Dallas grumbled.

Simon hovered his hand over the door handle, hesitating some, as if he was expecting some horrid beast to jump out at him.

"Good morning, boys," Professor Lockberry greeted when Simon pushed the door open. She sat at her desk in her normal Muggle attire, twirling her wand in her hand. She seemed… different. She looked the same, but something was off, and Scorpius couldn't place what it was. "It's good to see you again. Sit down please." She gestured toward the empty chairs between them. The boys were the first students to arrive. They took the table in the back, far away from her as possible.

While the other boys gossiped about the potential new Quidditch players on the school's teams this year, Scorpius studied Professor Lockberry, trying to figure out what was off about her. Sadly, by the time she started attendance, he still hadn't come up with anything.

"You will review last year's potions as a refresher," she instructed a short bit later. "Meanwhile, after this lesson, I want you to look up—" She paused a moment, glancing over a sheet of paper. "—the swelling potion…? That can't be right…" She walked around her desk and opened up a drawer, taking out a book and flipping some of its pages. "Ah, here we go!" she said cheerfully, holding her book up. "Page 143; the beka-beka potion!"

Scorpius's eyebrows creased in confusion. Surely she was mistaken?

There was a series of page flipping as the students found the spot in the book that the professor spoke about.

"Frogs?" Edgar questioned, voicing Scorpius's thoughts.

"Hey this isn't so bad," Warren said. "You just douse this onto someone, and they turn into a frog!"

"It's not the normal curriculum for second years," Scorpius pointed out firmly.

"This sounds like a lot of fun though," Dallas countered. "They'll croak and everything!"

"Alright, students," Professor Lockberry clapped for their attention. "I know how exciting it is going to be brewing such an amazing potion, but today we're supposed to be reviewing last year's work." She wrote on the blackboard the list of potions and ingredients that they had been taught the year before.

Everyone was so excited for the beka-beka potion that there was a lot of chatter about it. Professor Lockberry didn't scold anyone for this. It was highly abnormal for her to sit at her desk and not get upset at students for talking during class.

"There's definitely something different about her," Scorpius told his group.

"Yeah, she's actually being _cool_ ," Edgar said. "Maybe something changed over the summer. Like something opened her eyes. Near-death experience?"

"Maybe." Scorpius wouldn't take his eyes off her. He couldn't ignore the growing bubble of concern in his gut. She was strange somehow, and he needed to find out why that was.

He wasn't the only one to feel this way. Huldah came swooping in, landing on the professor's desk. Scorpius nudged Simon and tossed his head at the ghostly bird. Simon's forehead wrinkled as he presumably listened to what she had to 'say'.

"What are you guys looking at?" Edgar asked, noticing that they had been staring at a particular part of the room for too long.

"Nothing." Scorpius turned back to his work. He'd glance up every once in a while to see that the katu was still present.

"There's something in Lockberry's desk that Huldah says we've got to swipe," Simon informed Scorpius when the class was over.

"She wants us to steal from our professor?"

"It's awfully important."

"What is it?"

Simon shrugged. "She doesn't know, just that we need it."

Scorpius pursed together his lips, morally conflicted. If he wasn't so curious about Lockberry's sudden change in character, he would have said no. The gut feeling he had about her told him that Huldah was probably right.

"Alright, let's do it."

"Who's going to do it?"

"Well, she's your katu, and you have a history of swiping things."

"I only took things out of necessity," Simon defended the actions of his past. "I stole a bratwurst once after I ran from the Morgans." He shuddered, tormented by the memory. "They punished me well for that incident."

Scorpius frowned. He had seen a lot of Simon's memories with his amulet's assistance, but many of them he hadn't. He just knew that those people were horrible beings. "That's all over now," he told his friend softly.

"And your mirror," Simon went on. "I was desperate."

"Yeah," Scorpius said quietly. "You still have experience with taking things though. I've never taken anything that wasn't mine."

"Let's do it together," Simon suggested, growing nervous over the thought. "I'm rusty."

Scorpius let out a soft laugh. "Alright," he agreed.

They decided it was best to swipe the mystery item during a meal. To get it out of the way as soon as possible, they were going to do it at dinner that night.

The boys hung out in the common room a few minutes after dinner had been served. Huldah let Simon know when Lockberry was seated at the Professor's table. They made the short walk to the Potions Dungeon and found that the door was locked. Scorpius hadn't expected anything less, but he had hoped that she would have forgotten to lock the room up. Alas, he opened the door easily with a spell, and Simon gawked at him for it. Scorpius could still occasionally surprise him.

"Now I wouldn't be the son of Hermione Granger's if I didn't know a few unlocking spells, would I?" Scorpius remarked with a sly grin.

Simon tilted his head, considering. He had not been part of the Magical world for very long, but he had learned quickly that Hermione Granger definitely had a name for herself— one that she earned at an early age. Simon was lucky that her son was his friend. He was just as brilliant as she.

The desk was a little more difficult to unlock. Scorpius guessed that it was because it was a personal spell, one that had been created specifically for Lockberry's desk. Though he doubted that she made it herself. He didn't find her to be very bright minded.

With a little work, he finally got the drawer that Simon said needed unlocked open. There was a pile of miscellaneous objects, and Scorpius looked at them with disappointment. He had no idea what to grab.

"Well?" he asked his friend, hoping he had an idea.

Simon's lips scrunched up to the corner of his mouth. He unhelpfully shook his head, clueless of what they were looking for.

"Ask Huldah— _where_ is that bird now?!" he demanded out in mild frustration. Here they were breaking an important rule, and that damn katu was nowhere to be seen! Scorpius sighed, grasping onto his amulet; when all else failed, it usually would assist him with his needs.

Nothing. No light. No warmth. No vision. Not a bloody thing!

"Well, Huldah is your companion, she's supposed to help _you_ , maybe you could try just feeling around in the drawer for something and take out what you think is the right item."

Simon looked at Scorpius as if he had told him to hang himself.

"Sometimes you have to listen to your gut." Scorpius stepped back and gestured Simon forward. "Go on," he urged. "Before we get caught— this is an expellable offense. If we get expelled, we lose our wands."

Simon let out a breath of air and positioned himself in front of the drawer. He closed his eyes and slowly slipped his hands into it, feeling around. His eyes flew open after a few moments. "Holy moly!" he gasped. "I really felt something!"

"Really? What?!"

"I don't know. Warm and… _cottony_?"

"That's it! Do it again! And this time, snatch the item that has that feeling!"

Simon nodded and closed his eyes back up. His top teeth stuck out and bit into his lip as he concentrated, and a few seconds later, he pulled out a roll of parchment. "I've got it!" he cheered, astonished that he had been able to do it. "I can't believe it! I actually did something a true seer can do!"

"That's great, tough guy! I knew you could do it! You just have to have faith!"

"Let's see what it is!" Simon went to untie the ribbon that kept the roll secured, but Scorpius stopped him.

"Not here. We need to do it back up in our dorm."

"Right," Simon agreed.

They hurried to the door, opening it, and they both let out a yelp when they saw that there was someone on the other side of it.

"Scorpius Granger-Malfoy?! You're _stealing_?!"

The boys exchanged nervous looks. They each swallowed hard. Their secret was out, and they had been caught red-handed with a stolen item.


	17. The Very Important Number Nine

Talli's arms were crossed over her chest. She eyed her brother with disapproval. "This is unbelievable! You're _always_ on me for breaking a rule, yet here you stand, breaking a _law_!"

Scorpius's eyes fell to the floor at his feet. "Well, I—"

"Look, we can explain everything, but first we have to get away from here before we all get into trouble!" Simon said quickly. He gripped the stolen roll of paper firmly and slipped away from the doorway. He looked over his shoulder at Scorpius expectedly.

Scorpius sighed and stepped forward, closing the door behind him. "Come with us," he told Talli pleadingly. "It's for a good reason."

Talli rolled her eyes. "I'm sure it is…"

"Lockberry is up to something, and we've got to find out what it is."

"You've been listening to too much of Uncle Ron's stories."

"Go on then! Tell on us!" Simon dared her. "Let us get expelled! Your parents will love that!"

She scoffed. "I wasn't going to _tell_!" She lifted her wand up, trailing it slowly through the air in front of the door, relocking it. "I was just _astonished_ that you did something bad." They started their escape down the pathway. "So where are we going?"

"We were going to go back to our dorm, but we can't do that now, what with you being a Gryffindor and all."

"I wouldn't be the first Gryffindor that's wound their way in Slytherin's common room."

"Just because you're my sister, doesn't mean you get a free pass to our part of Hogwarts."

Talli tilted her head. "I suppose you're right, but you really can't blame me for trying."

"Let's just use an empty room," she suggested. "There's plenty of them." The boys didn't argue with that, and the trio picked one close to the Slytherin common room entrance.

"This looks like an old sitting room," Talli assessed the room, wrinkling her nose at the layer of dust on the torn furniture, finding the condition that the room was in odd. There were sixteen house elves at Hogwarts; why would they skip over this room?

"I hear this used to be where Slytherins took their dates to snog."

Talli shuddered at Simon's information. "I ain't sitting on the sofa then." She grabbed herself a chair and dragged it to an old coffee table. Talli held her wand over the table, and with an incantation, the dust disappeared from its surface. "I've studied Mum a lot," she informed when Scorpius asked how she had learned the spell so quickly. "And I figure, I'll be expected to do some cleaning once I advance in my education— we can't expect house elves to do everything. Besides, magical cleaning is incredibly easier than manual. It's fun too. I have no idea why Daddy makes such a big deal out of it. At my old school, the Muggles—"

"Tallistar," Scorpius interrupted gently. "We've literally been waiting all day to see what this is…" The boys had seated themselves across from her, and during Talli's rambling, Simon had unrolled the paper across the surface of it.

"Oh, sorry!" She went quiet instantly, and they all peered over the paper, their eyes darting this way and that.

"A… map?" Simon wasn't exactly sure what it was.

"It's floor plans," Talli told him. "There was a girl at my old school who wanted to be a carpenter— _crazy_ choice in a career, I know— she once showed something like this at a Show and Tell. It was allegedly the plans to her future dream house."

"This has a lot of rooms," Scorpius noted. "Thirty-two. Each with its own bathroom."

"It kind of reminds me of a hotel," Talli said. "Or a manor."

"There's a cafeteria." Simon pointed to the outlined room. "What hotel or manor owner calls their eating area a cafeteria?"

"Maybe it's a hospital," Scorpius said.

Talli snapped her fingers. "That's probably it; a hospital!"

"Why is Room 9 circled?" Scorpius tapped a spot on the paper, pointing out what had been marked.

"Nine?" Talli wondered. "Could it be the best room in the building?" She looked at her brother whose eyes were narrowed at the number nine. "Your face is going to get stuck like that," she warned him.

"The nine is important," he said. He ran his fingers over his lips, deep in thought, pinching them slightly. Their dad would do that too when he was thinking hard. Usually they witnessed it when he was contemplating his next move in chess.

"It's probably just marked to throw thieves off!"

Scorpius sent her a dirty look. "This is no time for jokes."

"Okay." She pressed her lips together, taking hint of his tone. "So when are you going to tell me why you thought you had to steal that?"

"It was Huldah's idea." Scorpius's eyes scanned the ceiling. His eyebrows bunched together with irritation.

"Huldah? Who's that?"

"She's my companion."

"You have a talking companion?" Talli asked Simon doubtfully

"She's my katu."

Talli narrowed her eyes in thought. She had heard of that before, but from what? She closed her eyes, blocking out disruptions, thinking on the memory. The flash of a page from a book appeared into her mind, and her eyes flew open. "You're kidding! You _really_ have a katu?!"

Simon gave her a nod. "I'm dead serious."

"You know what a katu is?" her brother asked, somewhat surprised to hear this.

Talli's hands went to the sides of her face, touching her cheeks. "Whoa!" she gasped, failing to acknowledge Scorpius's question. "If you really have a katu, then that means you're a seer!"

"How do you even know this?!" her brother demanded, growing impatient with her.

Talli grinned and flicked her eyebrows up. "I see I'm not the only one with secrets."

"Obviously not…"

"Okay, well, you know how Mum feels about Divinations? Last year, when she was busy buying you your school books, I secretly bought a book on it." She shrugged indifferently. "I wanted to know what the big deal was. It had to be useful somehow, if Hogwarts taught it, right? I got hooked within the first page and ended up buying a few more books."

"I thought you hated reading?"

"Guess I'll read anything to do with Quidditch and Divinations." She laughed. "So anyway—" Talli turned to Simon. "What kind of seer are you?" she asked eagerly. "Are you a visionary, an impressonary, a chirologist or an oneiromans? Wow, I never realized how many types of seers there are..."

"Um," Simon scratched at the back of his head. "I'm not exactly sure what I am…"

"He hasn't learned what his gift is yet," Scorpius told her.

Talli's shoulders slumped. "Oh."

"But I Tarot well enough," Simon added.

Talli's eyes lit up. "Really? Would you read me sometime?"

"I'd be happy to."

Talli squiggled in her seat a little, excited at the thought. "Wow, I've never met a seer before."

"Sure you have," Scorpius spoke up. He and Simon's eyes locked in on something behind Talli who turned around to see what was so interesting.

"What are you looking at?" She watched them exchange looks before focusing back on the spot behind her. "She's here, isn't she?" Talli asked, her pulse skipping with excitement. "Huldah's here; in this room!" Her face deadpanned suddenly, realizing what that meant.

"Chomper…?" She squeaked with a lost voice. She watched his eyes follow something around the room that she couldn't see.

"Yes?" He didn't look Talli in the eye.

"You're a— Are you—? You're not really a—" She couldn't complete the question she wanted to ask, too shocked to say anything that would make immediate sense.

"Unfortunately," he announced quietly as his eyes settled to a spot on the table, understanding her well enough.

She heaved out a heavy breath, feeling a little dizzy. "Mum's never going to believe this!"

"Which is why I haven't told either of our parents yet," her brother said firmly, disturbed by the thought.

"Huldah says you're going to be a great deal of help," Simon told Talli when the room went awkwardly silent. "She's happy to know that you're with us— even if you can't see her."

"I'll help in anyway I can," Talli announced, content enough to finally be a part of their secret.

*/*

"You haven't made any friends yet?" Talli asked Vanity. They were studying in the Great Hall, having had a ton of assignments in just barely a week into the school year.

Vanity hovered over a Charms book that she had borrowed from the library earlier that day. "Not really," she mumbled.

"I bet Hufflepuff has loads of nice people waiting to be your friends," Lily told her. "Teddy says your house has the most amazing folks you'll ever meet."

Vanity smiled at the metaphorigus's mentioning. She hadn't gotten to meet Teddy Lupin unlike the other two who were related to him. She found his ability to change his hair colour on command fascinating. "I'd love to meet him one day," she said longingly.

"He often speaks about getting a position here," Lily informed. "But he's never applied."

"Why not?" Talli wondered.

Lily shrugged. "He's kind of afraid of not getting it."

"Which class would he teach?" Vanity asked.

"Care of Magical Creatures; he loves animals. Dad has compared him to a less clumsy Hagrid, as in he really understands animals."

"He'd make a good COMC professor," Talli complimented. "I'd take the class if he were to teach it."

"So would I!" Vanity chimed with shining eyes.

"I don't get this potion," Lily changed the subject suddenly, dropping her quill and rubbing at a sore spot on her finger.

"You don't get _any_ potion," Talli told her. "The frog blood that's in it flows through your veins after you swallow it, and then you become the frog it used to be."

"Who would _willingly_ want to become a frog?"

"No one, I guess."

Vanity closed up her book, finished with her Charms assignment. "It's obviously used just for pranking."

"Let's hope we don't fall victim to it then."

Talli laughed. "James never turned you into a frog before?"

Lily shook her head. "No, but once he made my feet swell up! Merlin, it was awful!"

"Oh!" Vanity gasped, an idea coming to her. "We could give James a dose of the potion after we brew some!"

Lily's eyes widened. Her lips spread out into a horribly, evil-looking grin. "Oh, we are _totally_ doing that!"

Talli shuddered. "You're scary sometimes."

Lily giggled. "I know! Isn't it great?!"

"As long as you're on my side, it's fantastic."

"Hi, Vanity!" The girls looked up to see another girl waving at Vanity.

Vanity shyly waved back and returned to facing her friends.

"Well, who was that?" Lily inquiried.

"Clarissa Needles," was all Vanity said.

"She seems friendly enough," Talli noted, watching the girl sit down next to a boy who was also sporting the yellow tie of Hufflepuff.

"She is. She talks to _everyone_. She's my roommate. There's also Millie, but Millie doesn't talk much, she likes to read more than anything."

"You only have two roommates?" Talli found that strange. She remembered seeing more girls sorted into Hufflepuff than that.

"Yes, for now."

Lily's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. "For now?"

"There's an empty bed in our room," Vanity explained, growing eager over the subject. "We haven't met the girl yet. I don't think she's here at school right now or something, but we've been waiting on her. She's like our own little mystery. All the girls are talking about her!"

"You have two rooms for the girls in Hufflepuff then?"

Vanity nodded. "There's _five_ girls in the other one!"

"We've got five in ours," Talli informed like it was no big deal. "Haven't really talked to many of them, been too busy."

"Well, besides Penny."

Talli rolled her eyes at Lily's mentioning of their roommate. "Penny is _obsessed_ with my family's background. She has called my mum and dad the Romeo and Juliette of the Magical community. It's _completely_ revolting!"

"She's a romantic. There's nothing wrong with that," Lily defended their roommate.

"My parents' love story is more like a dark Hallmark Christmas special— mixed with a little bit magic."

Lily tilted her head, contemplating Talli's comparison. She shook her head. "Nah, that doesn't sound right either."

"And those Hallmark romances are quite cheesy," Vanity added. "Your parents aren't cheesy."

"Not to mention they're predictable, and the plots are extremely overly done. How many women _really_ are the CEOs of a major company? Or how many must open a bakery?"

"Or media reporters!" Vanity wrinkled her nose up. "No thanks!"

"I like the royalty ones." Lily pulled out a game board from her bag, wordlessly offering to play with Talli.

"They're okay," Talli said after giving the troupe a consideration, claiming the red coloured game pieces. "But it's all just… _gushy_. And unrealistic."

"That's why they're so fun to watch!" Vanity put her pot of ink away so that it wouldn't accidently spill onto their game.

"Blech!" Talli made a gagging sound, teasing Vanity.

Vanity playfully balled up her fist. "I'll sock you!"

"And it'll just feel like a fly's landed on me!"

" _Talitha_!" Lily called out Talli's name to get her attention.

Talli groaned. "Don't call me that!"

"It's _your_ turn! _Move_. Before we've got to walk Vanity to her common room!"

"Stuart gets the next match!"

Talli groaned as the annoying boy took a seat next to her, smiling.

"Hi, pixies, anything good happening?"

" _Why_ do you call us pixies?" Talli asked in exasperation.

"Pixies are the most beautiful, mystical human-like creature there are, and you ladies remind Stuart of them!"

"Oh, that is so sweet, Stuart!" Vanity gushed.

"It's lame," Talli said indifferently.

Lily shrugged. "He _is_ kind of sweet."

"Stuart tries!"

"Sweet or not, you're still highly annoying!"

"Don't worry, Stuart will soon wiggle his way into your pretty, little heart!"

Talli rolled her eyes. "I highly doubt that!"

"I'm not sure why you try," she said to Lily minutes later when the game was finished. "You can't beat me at _Who Found the Snitch_."

"Now Stuart gets to play!"

"Sorry, Stu, but we've got to take Vanity down to her common room before curfew," Talli informed with a smug grin.

"You can play with him when you get up to your tower though," Vanity told her, earning sneer from Talli. Vanity laughed.

"Stuart will go get ready for your return!" He jumped off his seat and hurried out of the Great Hall. Talli was happy to be free of him, even if it was just for a few minutes.

She and Lily followed their Hufflepuff friend out of the Great Hall towards the kitchens. The girls turned off down the corridor where it would eventually dead end to the entrance of Hufflepuff's common room.

"There's a girl up there by herself," Talli pointed up several feet away to a girl who was standing by three barrows. The said girl hastily ducked behind the barrows. "Go away!"

Lily tilted her head. "She sounds awfully familiar…"

"Do you need help getting in?" Vanity asked as the three of them approached the barrows. The girl covered her face with her arms, violently shaking her head.

"Why are you out here alone?" Talli questioned.

The girl didn't say anything for a moment before she let out a small sigh and stood up. She dropped her hands, looking at the ground.

"I knew you sounded familiar!" Lily shrieked. "How are you even _here_?!"

"Who is she?" Talli demanded, confused by Lily's aggressive tone.

"She's my cousin!" Lily placed her hands onto her hips. "Well?!" she directed at the girl.

Talli narrowed her eyes, puzzled. She had met just about all of Lily's cousins. Talli also didn't remember this girl during the sorting.

"Dursley?" Vanity asked, her voice slightly above a whisper, afraid that she was wrong.

Talli laughed. "The Dursleys aren't magical!"

"Exactly!" Lily snapped.

Vanity studied Lily's cousin who Talli faintly remembered being named Magnolia. "How can a Muggle even get in here? Thought there were wards protecting us from them?"

Magnolia bent down, picking up a wand. "I am not a Muggle…" she said very slowly with immense regret, as if it was the worst thing she had ever had to say.

Lily began laughing. "Let me get this straight; for _years_ , you've been snubbing my brothers and I because we were unexplainably magical, and now, here you stand, telling me that you're a _witch_?!" Her laughing got deeper. "You're a flat out riot!"

The girl tapped at a barrow quickly making Vanity holler out in a panic, and in just a split second, the four of them were soaked in a liquid that smelled terribly sour and burned their eyes.

"That was the wrong barrow!" Vanity cried out.

"Ugh, what is this?!" Lily shrieked.

"I'm sorry!" Magnolia pathetically wailed out. "I'm didn't want to come here! I didn't! They made me!" And with another series of frantic tapping, the wall behind the barrows opened, and Magnolia ran into the exposed tunnel, whimpering all the way.

"Wait!" Vanity called after her. She looked at her watch. "You best get going," she told the Gryffindors. "It's getting late. I'll see if I can calm her down."

Lily scoffed, pulling at her soiled robes. "She could cry the entire night for all I care!"

"I think it's vinegar," Talli informed Lily once they started their long walk up to the Gryffindor tower.

"Oh, then that's not so bad," Lily said with relief. "The smell will fade when it's dry."

"Yeah— so your cousin really gave you a bad time, did she?"

"She was horrid. She wouldn't touch us, wouldn't play with us and considered us _dirty_."

"It's a shame your dad makes you go over there."

"Uncle Dudley isn't so bad. He's a little uneasy around us, but he considers Dad like a brother— you know how we feel about Teddy? Kind of like that. My dad saved his life, and he knows that how they treated him when he was a kid was terrible. He's trying to make up for it. But _Magnolia_ …" Lily's tone turned bitter. "I can't believe she's a ruddy _witch_! I'd love to know how long she's known! That little hypocrite!"

"Maybe she'll turn a new leaf now. She's all by herself here, in a world completely different than the one she grew up in. She could use someone to help her adjust."

Lily lips pursed, not even giving Talli's words some consideration. "I'm not going to be the one to show her around, she's not _my_ problem. She's on her own!"

Talli made a mental note not to ever piss Lily off. She was quite frightening and unforgiving.

*/*

"Did you hear Harry Potter's _niece_ — the one born to _Muggles_ — is a witch?! She's right here in this school!"

"She's not his niece, you dork!"

News had spread about Magnolia Dursley quickly. By the next morning, everyone knew about her (and the exaggerated stories of Uncle Harry's childhood at the Dursleys and what his relationship was with his cousin nearly twenty years later).

"I can't believe it!" Albus said from his spot at the Slytherin table, a few seats up from Scorpius. His eyes were glued to the doors of the Great Hall, presumably waiting for her to make an appearance. "Never in a million years would I have thought that my cousin Magnolia was magical."

"She wasn't at the sorting," Edgar stated, having had the misfortune of meeting the prissy girl a year ago.

"She's Hufflepuff," a girl in Albus's year unnecessarily said; everyone knew that already.

"When was she even sorted?" Simon asked.

No one knew the answer to that.

"How could she have been here for _days_ without anyone knowing?" Edgar wondered.

"I'm sure the professors knew," Scorpius told him.

"I'd like to know how she even got sorted into Hufflepuff— she isn't exactly friendly. I dread going over there every year, she's a nightmare!"

"She's not accepting of others either," Edgar added. "Definitely not an appropriate badger trait."

"Least she's not in Slytherin." Albus was relieved by that.

"Thank Merlin!" Edgar agreed, horrified by the thought of her being in the same house as them.

Scorpius didn't blame his friends for their reactions over Magnolia being a witch, but he felt a little bad for her just the same. Her reputation was shot from the start— not that she hadn't earned it.

He focused his attention more on the floor plans, not one to make an opinion about a person he's never met. They needed to find the building that these were made for anyway.

A couple days before, the boys ventured up to the library for a little research, where Scorpius aimlessly wandered through it, hoping for an idea to pop in his head. Mother always said that any answer worth having could be found in a book.

Huldah had gone with them, and while sometimes she could drive Scorpius a little nutty with her frequent disappearances, he was quite thankful of her presence right then. Apparently, katues could read, and she pointed out a book for them to look over. Simon was the first to reach out for it.

 _The Number Nine and Its Importance_.

Why Scorpius didn't think to look for something like that, he didn't know, but Huldah was a brilliant!

" _In Arithmancy, The Nine denotes the finality of every cycle,_ " Simon whispered the opening sentence to the book. "This means something," he told Scorpius, tapping the page. "I can feel it. This is a significant clue."

"Yeah," Scorpius agreed. He had felt it too, ever since he had seen the number circled. "But what?"

"No idea, but I'm definitely going to borrow this."

They had spent all night reading the book from front to back, but besides trivial facts such as the One always following the Nine, and Nine's association with death, they weren't any closer to figuring out the floor plans than they had been before.

Scorpius just couldn't stop thinking about it though. Those dumb floor plans and the number nine were beginning to absorb him. _Why_ were either of them so important?

On the day of Magnolia Dursley's news about being a witch, in Potions, Lockberry graded the papers of the assignment that she had given the class at the beginning of the year. When she was finished, she manually passed them around, setting each paper on the desk next to the student it belonged to. "A fine score," she murmured to him when he looked at it.

 _Ninety-Nine_.

It was the highest grade she had _ever_ given him. As she continued down the aisle between the desks, Scorpius stared at the back of her head in heavy disbelief.

"I got a 94," Simon announced next to him. "Missed an ingredient; according the note she left me, it was the dandelion root, which is the most _important_ — she underlined this word; strange— ingredient." He shook his head, setting the paper down. "She's baffling! Since when does she write us notes? If she had done this for us last year, we wouldn't have had such an issue with her!"

Scorpius hardly paid his friend any attention though, his eyes followed the professor around the room until she was finished and sitting back at her desk.

He finally pulled his eyes from her. "What are you doing?" Scorpius asked Simon when he saw that he was writing down a bunch of numbers.

"Edgar scored an 89. Warren, a 72." He scribbled the numbers down. "You got 99, and I earned 94."

Scorpius frowned at Warren's grade. "72?" That was quite pathetic, but Warren hadn't bothered to study either. He had been spending a lot of time with Franny Dillweed.

"My hands are fuzzy," Simon whispered meaningfully to Scorpius, rubbing his fingers together. "And they're warm."

Scorpius gave Simon's paper a look over, narrowing his eyes in concentration. Something abruptly hit the pit of his stomach. Simon was right about those numbers! Scorpius slid the paper toward him so that he could look at it closely, but it just made him even more irritated.

It was _incredibly_ frustrating that they were so close (he could feel it) to figuring this out, and nothing would come to him!

He set his elbow onto the desk, propping his head into his hand. An annoyed sigh escaped Scorpius. He let Simon take back his list of numbers. "I can't take this for much longer!" he grumbled.

"I'm sure we'll figure it out," Simon assured him, folding up his list. "I feel like we're just about to cross a finish line. My stomach is a mess! My hands, they're _shaking_!" He held one up to show it. It trembled slightly, even though he held it still. "We _are_ going to figure this out!"

"I've never seen you so certain about anything in your life."

"That's because I've never felt it before now. I'm one hundred percent sure that we're close to our discovery."

Scorpius nodded. He was too, but the wait was going to drive him mad!

At dinner that night, everyone noticed that half the teachers were missing, and even the House tables where the students sat didn't seem as full.

Talli came over to explain that Vanity hadn't shown up for any of her lessons that day, and she was worried about her. "We're arranging a search party," she told the boys. "We think she's with Magnolia Dursley, who's also missing— want to come help?"

Scorpius stood up instantly, worried about his godsister. "Certainly! I hope she's okay!"

"I think they're just lost. Vanity hardly knows her left from her right, and Lily's told me that Magnolia is practically the same way. I just hope they're together."

No sooner than Scorpius, Simon and Talli grouped up with a few other Slytherins who offered to help, did Vanity came walking into the Great Hall. Her dark blond hair was a horrid mess, but she appeared alright besides that.

"Vanity!" Talli called out, running up to her with Scorpius close behind. "Where _have_ you been?!" she breathlessly demanded, taking the girl into a hug. "I was so _worried_!"

Vanity didn't answer right away. She looked over her shoulder, behind her back. James Potter had an arm draped around Magnolia's shoulders and was leading her to the Hufflepuff table. He spoke softly to his cousin, his tone quiet, and no one could make out any actual words as he passed.

"She was running away!" Vanity cried out. "I couldn't let her, she would have gotten into so much trouble— if not hurt! I tried to stop her! She wouldn't listen to me! And we almost got attacked." The girl hugged her arms to her chest, slightly shivering over her recollection.

"By what?"

"A Sharptoothed Grounghog, or at least I think it was! I couldn't tell, it ran for us, and I just remember screaming for her to run!"

Talli took the girl into her arms. "It's good that you're okay!"

"James, he saved us! He casted the fire shield, and it took off the other way! I don't know how he knew where we were— we were outside of Hogwarts, Magnolia was going to Hogsmeade to catch the next train."

"Let's go get you a potion, okay?" Talli talked soothingly to her. "It'll wash all your shakes away. You'll feel better."

Vanity nodded, leaning into Talli for support, still a bit shaken up. Scorpius wanted to make sure Vanity was okay, so he and Simon followed them up to the Infirmary.

Madam Abbott looked over Vanity, gave her a potion to calm her nerves, and sent the other three out, ensuring them that she'd be better than new before the night was over.

Talli was satisfied enough with that. She let out a relieved sigh. "I'll have to remember to thank James! Hey, he's really taking that prefect status seriously, isn't he— what's that you got there?" she asked about the paper Simon was holding.

"A bunch of numbers," he answered, unfolding it. The creases were worn out in it by now, thus it was rather delicate. He had to carefully handle his list to avoid tearing it. "Actually, this is a list of grades from our Potions class."

"Of everyone's grades?" she wondered, finding that odd.

"Well, not everyone's, I've accumulated eight scores here."

Talli stood up on the tips of her toes to see over Simon's forearm. "Why would you care about these?"

"We're feeling something," Scorpius told her.

"Like some kind of Divination thing?" Her eyes filled with heavy interest. Her brother simply nodded. "I got a 99 too, is that important? Does that matter?"

"Probably." Simon fished out a quill from his bag and wrote her name down along with her grade.

"Huh…"

"What's on your mind, Tal?" Scorpius asked Talli, knowing her thoughtful tone all too well.

"It's just that…" She tilted her head. "May I borrow that?" She held her hand out for Simon's quill. "And do you have a fresh sheet of paper?"

Simon gave her the requested items after having to dig in his bag for the paper. She walked over to the wall on the opposite of the Infirmary doors and slid down it to sit on the floor, fully focused on Simon's paper. After a few seconds, she began writing. The boys hovered over her, wondering what could possibly have snagged her attention.

"Merlin's beard!" she gasped out. She stood up, gripping onto the paper that she had written on.

"What?!" they eagerly asked.

"It's all nine!" she exclaimed. "All the scores lead to nine! Look, see?" She pointed to 90. "Nine and zero equals nine! Eight and one is nine!"

"How does nine and nine equal nine?"

"It equals eighteen, which is made of one and eight, and that is—"

"Nine," Simon whispered with wide eyes.

"She's right!" Scorpius shouted. "They're all nine! Eight times nine is seventy-two, and seven plus two is nine— holy fishtails, Talli! Mother would be so proud of you! You're an Arithmancy genius!"

"Arithmancy?" she questioned confused. "I didn't do any Arithmancy…?

"You did a formula used for it," Simon pointed out.

"No, I just…" She went blank when it dawned on her. Then she grinned. "I did, didn't I?" She swung her head back forth smugly. "Hmm, maybe I'll take Arithmancy."

"I just realized something," Simon spoke up.

"What?"

Simon didn't answer verbally. He took a moment to write something down. He then let Scorpius look over it.

_Lockberry_

Scorpius lifted his shoulders up, confused by Simon's message. He stared at it for another moment longer, and then he took off in a run.

"Where are you guys going?!" Talli shouted when Simon joined him.

"Stay there!" Scorpius told her. "Make sure Vanity gets to her common room!"

"Well?" Simon asked when he caught up. "Where _are_ we going?"

"She has more," Scorpius said. "She's obsessed with nine!"

"All of a sudden?"

"All of a sudden!"

It was a long run to the Potions dungeon, and upon reaching it. they had to catch their breath before going on any further. Scorpius leaned up against the door, coughing due to the burning of his lungs, and Simon swallowed in gulps of air.

After they recovered, Scorpius unlocked the door easily, and took a look around. He saw nine everywhere. There were nine pictures on the wall. Nine shelving units, each with nine shelves, and on each shelf, there were twenty-seven jars of potion ingredients. The desks lined up in nine rows. The blackboard, with the last lesson still written on it, had nine sentences, each with nine words in them.

"The beka-beka potion has nine ingredients," Scorpius said. "The dandelion— nine letters— being the most important— also nine letters."

"What's this all mean?" Simon wondered, still a bit unsure what this was about.

Huldah swooped in then, hovering in front of Simon, chirping up a frenzy. Simon went still. His jaw clenched, and he spin around slowly, facing the door. Scorpius did the same, confused about his reaction, and he jumped.

"I didn't think it would take you boys long before your started meddling around in my business."

"I think we're in trouble," Simon warned Scorpius.

"I think so too," Scorpius acknowledged him, waiting for Lockberry to continue. How much trouble they were in, he did not know.

She stepped in, her eyes sweeping around the room, assessing it. "What I'd like to know is how much _you_ know," she told them without even looking at them, still concerned about the room.

"Not much," Simon answered honestly.

"I believe you have something of mine?"

Scorpius's fingers twitched. He didn't know whether he should give the floor plans back or not. He doubted he even needed them anymore, but he didn't want her having them either.

He felt Simon nudge him and saw his friend give him a nod. Reluctantly, Scorpius reached into his robes and pulled out the floor plans. He held onto it, not yet willing to hand it over.

"It does not belong to you, Mr. Granger-Malfoy," Professor Lockberry growled.

Simon took ahold of it then, and Scorpius released his grip on it. When Simon had complete possession of the floor plans, he yelped out and dropped it. He took a step back from the roll and stared at it as if it was going to bite him.

Scorpius also stepped back and looked at his friend. "Are you alright?"

Simon moved his neck around, seemingly unsure whether he should nod or shake his head. He closed his eyes. "I'll be fine."

Lockberry tutted in disapproval, pocketing the floor plans. "I ought to have you expelled," she snarled. "Stealing is a very serious crime! Alas... I can't do that...I need you _here_..."

She turned around and stalked to her desk. "The nine is a powerful number, boys, but do you know what's even more stronger than nine?" She pulled out a jar from her desk, and unscrewed the lid to it. Neither boy said a word as she made her way back to them.

"Are you afraid of me?" she asked when they put a desk between she and them. "This is a harmless substance." She dipped her hand into the jar pulling out a handful of white powder. "You won't feel a thing, won't remember anything either."

Scorpius pulled Simon back, and they ran to the door, but it was locked.

"You're trapped," she simply stated the obvious. "Now be good little boys and ask me why seven is much more powerful than nine."

They stared at Lockberry as she slowly advanced to them, they pressed into the door, wishing it open, but Scorpius couldn't get it to unlocked this time.

"Why?" Simon spoke up with a nervous voice. "Why is seven better than nine?"

Lockberry flattened out her hand, exposing the powder in it. "Because my dear boy, seven ate nine." She blew into the powder, dusting the boys with it, taking away all their senses.

"What happened?" Scorpius groaned. He looked at his watch. It was well after curfew.

Simon sat up from the Slytherin common room sofa, rubbing his eyes. Huldah was perched in his lap, twittering.

"Lockberry," Simon grunted. "She enchanted us somehow, threw us out of the Potion Dungeon, and Professor Bulstrode found us laying there."

"We were on to her!" Scorpius said, making a fist. "We almost had her!"

Simon yawned, rubbing his eyes. "Huldah said we discovered her obsession with the number—" He stopped short. "Nine!" He shrieked, uprooting from his seat. "I remember, the floor plans! I got a vision or something when I touched them!"

"What was it about?"

Simon looked up at the ceiling, scrunching up his face, thinking. "It was Picket," he said flatly. "I saw us walking through the asylum, going to Picket's room." He hung his head. "It wasn't a vision, " he informed with disappointment. "Just a memory."

"Wait…" Now Scorpius stood up. "What was Picket's room number?"

Their eyes met, each remembering it at the same time.

_The floor plans were of the asylum._

"She's after Picket!" they said together.


	18. Tied Hands

"Son, do you have _any_ idea what time it is?!"

"I'm sorry, Grandfather, but I don't know who else to contact! I need help— or rather Picket does! My professor is after him!"

Grandfather groaned tiredly, holding the mirror up to his sleepy-looking face. "Just a moment, Scorpius. I need to wake up a little so that I can think straight."

"Is something wrong?" Grandmother's slightly worried voice could be heard next to her husband.

"It's only Scorpius, dear. Go back to sleep, I'm going to talk with him."

"At this hour?" She sounded alarmed.

"I am sure all is fine. Hush now." He leaned in, setting a kiss to her cheek. Then he got out of bed and put on a robe to leave the room.

"Alright, Scorpius," he said groggily after a house elf had fixed him a cup of tea. "What is your problem?" He listened thoroughly as his grandson explained what was going on. When Scorpius was finished, he rubbed his chin in thought.

"I'll send Picket a message, but your professor is not going to find him at the asylum, he is no longer residing there, and if she does have ill intentions such as the ones that you're feeling— which we're not even sure of— she's going to have a hard time doing it when he's on the move. And that's before we even get into her teaching career; it's pretty hard to track someone down while in stationary."

The boys weren't too convinced though. She was planning something, and they knew it wasn't going to be anything good. "Maybe she has assistants doing her ground work… She wouldn't be the first mastermind to employ people to do her dirty work!"

"I'll see what I can do, and that's all I can promise," his grandfather said after a thought.

"Thank you, Grandfather," Scorpius said in immense gratitude. His grandfather had always been such an honest, caring man for as long as he knew him. Grandfather had been there for him since he was an infant. Since he was a little boy, Scorpius had a hard time believing that he used to be a bad man, but he knew many years could change someone. Just the same, Scorpius could never picture this man doing the evil things that were occasionally still spoken about him.

Scorpius ended the mirror-call with a satisfied sigh. With Grandfather involved, things would be okay. The elder man had a way with pulling strings in all the right places without creating such a fuss.

"Everything will be fine," Scorpius said to Simon, a faint smile on his face.

"You feel it?" his friend asked doubtfully.

"My grandfather will do everything he can to fix it."

"But what if he can't?"

"He can."

"But there's always that chance that things can go wrong."

Scorpius gave a single, firm nod. "Then we'll worry about that path if we approach it."

"I'm afraid," Simon whispered fearfully. "What if something happens to my dad?"

"He'll be fine," Scorpius assured him. "Let's not over worry ourselves." His insides were a mess though. He was afraid too, but Scorpius had to stay strong. He had to hang on to hope. It was the only thing they could do at the moment.

Morning came by slowly. Naturally the boys didn't get much sleep, but when the owls came during breakfast to make their deliveries, they were momentarily put to ease. Picket had written Simon a letter, informing them that he was in perfect health and to not worry about him.

 _Concentrate on mastering your talent, and study real hard. Do not fret over me,_ he had written.

Simon hugged the letter to his chest, closing his eyes. He sported a small smile. "He may not be my real dad, but it's nice to have him say these words to me. For so long, I have been waiting for a moment like this."

Scorpius frowned. Even though his parents were now Simon's legal guardians, Scorpius felt sad that Picket wasn't his father. He knew that Simon would likely never consider Father to be his dad. Simon appreciated the hospitality of the Granger-Malfoy family, he didn't think of them as actual family though. Scorpius was aiming to change that, but it was going to be a challenging task.

"So why did you run off last night?" Talli broke her way into Scorpius's thoughts, slipping in between he and Simon at their table.

"Lockberry," Scorpius muttered, tightening his grip on his spoon. He set it down, his appetite lost.

"Well, I figured _that_ , but what did you find out about her?"

"She's after Picket, we just don't know why," Simon supplied.

Talli looked taken aback. "What would she want _him_ for?"

Scorpius shook his head, clueless. "We're trying to figure that out."

"Maybe he gave her a prophecy," Simon suddenly thought.

"He's a seer too?"

"They say it's a hereditary thing."

"We've never had any prophets in our bloodline," Talli said to Simon, speaking about Scorpius's gift.

"I'm not exactly sure if mine is in my blood," Scorpius interjected. He took the amulet out from the underneath his shirt. "I might be channeling some power through this." He handed it to his sister who was clearly interested with his statement.

"A few times, I've felt comfort with this," she told him, running her thumb along its green gem. "When I've seen it shine."

"Yeah." Scorpius smiled softly, remembering a couple of those times. "I know."

"But I always had this thought that it kind of projected your emotions."

"Did you now?" Scorpius had never thought about that before.

"Well, sure." She got quiet, studying it over. "It was like you spoke to me through it. It was strange, but… calming. I know I sound crazy—"

"Definitely not!" Scorpius stopped her. "You could be right, I really don't know how it works, to be honest."

"Well, I best get back to my table. Lily and Vanity aren't speaking to each other, so now Lily is a bit on the moody side."

"Are they fighting about Magnolia?"

Talli nodded. "I think Lily's being a bit too sensitive over the subject, but whatever. I guess she'll have to get over it."

"Let's hope so…" Scorpius looked off across the room to the Hufflepuff table. Vanity was sitting next to Magnolia, showing her a few basic spells. Vanity had always been so kind and helpful to everyone.

"Anyone know how she got sorted yet?" Simon wondered, curious about Magnolia's back story.

"Vanity told me that it had been done the next morning after the feast. McGonagall had it done in her office."

"Was she even on the Hogwarts Express?"

"Nope. She had actually ran away from home the day we were all supposed to be here, that was why no one seen her at the feast. She was found by the Muggle authorities, and her dad made her come here. She wanted to stay Muggle, but obviously she can't do that, and now she has to learn how to control her magic. Her dad can't help her there, so she really has no other choice. I can't imagine refusing to be magical though. For years, I remember wanting to be magical when I thought I was Squib."

"In her defense, she grew up in a Muggle home," Scorpius pointed out. "You didn't."

Talli put a hand to her hip. "Well, if you ask _me_ , I bet she was jealous of Lily and her brothers, and then was too chicken to come here to face their wrath over her horrid treatment of them!"

"That could be one scenario," Scorpius noted. "But we will probably never know."

" _I'll_ find out eventually," she said definitively. "Anyway, see you two later— bye Albus, Edgar!" She waved to each of the boys before walking off back to the Gryffindor table.

"We've got Potions again today," Simon announced grimly after looking over their timetable.

Scorpius's throat tightened. He wasn't really looking forward to that. Were the boys supposed to pretend that nothing happened the night before? Or were they going to let Lockberry have it? He wanted to do both equally; in one hand, he wanted to catch her off guard, but in the other, he didn't want her to have the satisfaction that she had outsmarted them— even if it was just for a short while. He couldn't stand the thought of her winning!

"What do we do?" he asked Simon on their way down to the Potions Dungeon after expressing his concerns.

"Well, she put us under a memory charm," Simon told him thoughtfully. "If it wasn't for Huldah, we wouldn't even know what happened last night."

"Right," Scorpius agreed.

"I was able to remember only my memory of touching the floor plans, everything else from that night is a blank. So I guess the inner sight is more stronger than a memory charm…?" he wondered with uncertainty.

"Probably."

"I think… for now, we should let her believe we've forgotten what happened last night. Talli was able to figure out the whole seer thing quickly. I'm not sure I'd want Lockberry discovering this about us. If she thought that we remembered something, she'd wonder how we did it. At this moment, in her eyes, we're just two second year boys who snooped around her desk. She doesn't know that we know she's up to no good."

Scorpius nodded. "It's probably best that she doesn't know. You're right." He tapped Simon's shoulder. "Good call, tough guy."

They stopped at the Potions Dungeon door, hesitating. "Well, are you ready?" Simon asked, inhaling a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

"As I'll ever be," Scorpius grumbled.

They uneasily took their seats. The room was already pretty full, which didn't upset them in the slightest.

"Mr. Granger-Malfoy, since you seem to know the most about this potion, I'd like you to come up here and demonstrate the brewing process of it."

Ten minutes in, and Lockberry was already giving Scorpius unwanted attention, but being how they had agreed to pretend that nothing was going on, he stood up and walked to the front of the class to the table she had set up for him.

Scorpius was not a shy person. He didn't mind attention, but he also didn't care if he was popular. He was a little nervous that day though, and it wasn't because of the crowd of his peers watching his every move. It was Lockberry's eyes. Her eyes were locked onto him. His hands particularly. She appeared to be fascinated with them. As if she had never seen hands work before.

Forty minutes later, Scorpius gave his brew one, final stir. "And now we wait seven days for it to ferment," he instructed, finishing his demonstration. "You'll then bottle it up, like with any other brew when it's complete."

"Excellent job, Mr. Granger-Malfoy!" Lockberry praised, smiling. She turned toward the students who were still sitting. "As you can see, this process is quite simple, but if you ever have trouble remembering it's sequence, just remember seven, eight, and nine. Seven days, eight steps, nine ingredients."

"Or rather nine-eight-seven," Scorpius spoke up.

" _What_?" Her head snapped so sharply, Scorpius swore he heard it crack.

"That would be a better tool to remember, since it's the actual sequence of the brew," he explained. "Ingredients are first, the directions of the recipe are second and the days to ferment are the last."

"You may sit down now, Mr. Granger-Malfoy. You're no longer needed."

Her eyes didn't leave his as he silently grabbed his wand. It appeared he had unintentionally struck a nerve of hers.

"As I was saying, seven- _eight_ -nine, is an excellent way to remember this potion," the professor continued once Scorpius was back at his seat.

"If looks could kill, mate," Edgar breathed out.

"I know," he whispered. "I'd still be behind that desk, flat on my back." He and Simon shared a look, wondering just how close to the truth that could end up being.

*/*

It took no time at all before Talli felt like she was caught in the middle of her friends' feud. Talli felt that Lily was overreacting just a bit slightly. Everyone knew how Vanity was with people, and it wasn't a surprise that she was helping Magnolia. Sure Magnolia had been a prat to Lily in the past, but it wasn't worth losing a friend over!

Still, Talli didn't think it was her place to say anything yet. She hoped that they would mend the problem on their own. It didn't look like that was going to happen though.

"Talli, could you please pass me those gloves?" Lily pointed to a pair of gloves that were on the other side of the table. They were in Herbology, practicing how to transplant plants. Talli was a short girl, she wouldn't be able to reach them even if she stood on her tiptoes. Vanity was on the other side of the table though, and she could pick them up and hand them to Lily easily. Alas, it was clear that Lily wasn't going to ask Vanity to do that.

Magnolia who was Vanity's partner, picked up the gloves for Talli. "Here, Lily…"

Lily merely looked up at her cousin's addressing of her. "You'll need them more, after all, wouldn't want to get your perfect, little nails dirty, hmm?"

Magnolia silently set them down. She looked ready to cry. She took off her own gloves, revealing that her hands were shaking. Her nails did look perfect though. She had on a sparkling purple nail varnish, and not one nail had a chip in them. Without a word, the girl walked out of the greenhouse that they were all in.

"Magnolia!" Vanity took off after her.

"Stuart thinks you hurt her feelings," the boy observed from his spot next to Talli.

Lily shrugged. "I don't really care." She bit the inside of her lip, looking at the door where the girls had disappeared off to. Perhaps she was feeling just a bit guilty.

"I think you _do_ care," Talli said.

Lily straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. "She hasn't even said she's sorry!"

"You haven't really given her the chance," Talli pointed out.

"I can't believe Vanity would _bin_ us for her!"

"She hasn't _binned_ us!" Talli hissed quietly so that the professor couldn't hear her. " _You_ have binned Vanity!"

"She knows how I feel about her!"

"And you know that Vanity can't refuse to help someone! Magnolia is having issues, and she could use some emotional support. She has no friends and no family going to this school, she's been _severed_ from the life that she knew. She's scared, and until she had met Vanity, she was alone. Magnolia may be a spoiled, little worm, but she needs a friend right now."

"Stuart agrees." He gave a firm nod.

"You do?" Lily asked, surprised that the boy would get into the middle of this.

"It's no fun being alone," he added, looking down at his hands. "Stuart has no family here either, but he has you— when you let him stick around…"

That struck Talli's conscious like a smack to the face. She was completely sure that his comment was entirely directed at her. She refrained from groaning. How could she have been so inconsiderate?!

"I'm sorry if I haven't been charming to be around," she told him. "I'm just… _honest_ — you said you like that!"

"Yeah, but Stuart can't help what he does, and the boys tease him enough about his talking. He was hoping you'd be different."

Lily sent Talli a look, implying that she had warned Talli that her insensitivity would eventually end up in a blow. Talli shook her head in disbelief over what she was about to do. She wrapped an arm around the boy, leaning into him. "You're strange," she said. "But you don't deserve to be treated like you're a disease, and I hope you can forgive me for the way I've been acting."

He giggled happily, hugging her tightly. "Of course you're forgiven! Stuart holds no grudges!"

"Okay!" Talli gasped. "Can't breathe! Can't breathe! _Stuart_! _Let me go_!"

"Oops, Stuart's bad! Sorry!"

When Stuart released Talli, and she stretched up to catch her breath, she noticed that Lily was no longer standing next to her.

"Stuart thinks she went off to find her cousin. She might be saying her apologies," Stuart gave an answer to Talli's puzzled face. Talli tilted her head, considering his words. It would be nice if that's what Lily was doing.

"Alright," Professor Sprout spoke out, noticing that she was missing some students. "It seems emptier in here!" She scratched at her head, unable to pinpoint who exactly was missing, having to consult a piece of parchment that listed her class.

"Lily Pott—"

" _Here_!" Lily said breathlessly darting between Talli and a boy named Curtis Hobbs. "Just needed a watering can!" She held one up, as if proving her statement.

The professor blinked at her with confusion and then nodded, setting her paper down and returning to the lecture. Vanity and Magnolia rejoined the table when she had busied herself with a struggling boy from Hufflepuff.

"So?" Talli asked her friends.

"We've called a truce," Lily announced. "Vanity and I are friends again, and Magnolia and I are…" Lily paused, watching her cousin uneasily look down at the table. "Well, we're okay, maybe we can be friends later, but for now, we'll work on being cousins— as long as that's okay with her?"

Magnolia perked up her head with a grin plastered on her face. "That sounds very fair, Lily, thank you!"

"All's well!" Stuart sung out, clapping excitedly. He ducked his head down low when he caught Professor Sprout's attention, eyes wide at the idea of being scolded. "What's a rainy day!" he finished under his breath, making Vanity snicker in amusement.

"He's not a bad singer!" Lily complimented.

"You're actually pretty good," Talli agreed.

"You think so?" He was surprised that she would say such a thing. "Stuart shall sing more often then!" He jumped a mile when the professor set a hand to his shoulder.

"You do have a lovely voice, Mr. McBlythe, but I would deeply appreciate it if you waited until after class before doing anymore singing, okay dear?"

"Sorry, Professor," he apologized, feeling bad. "Stuart promises to wait."

"You're fine," she assured him, tapping her hand against his shoulder.

"She's really nice," Stuart said after she had walked away, admiring her friendly demeanor.

About a week later, the Slytherin team was hosting tryouts for the new year. Edgar stood in line with fifteen others who were interested. Albus had changed his mind about trying out when he realized that the Gryffindor team would be assisting with the tryouts (the teams had a deal; Slytherin would also help Gryffindor during their own tryouts). This was particularly because James would be there, and his brother knew exactly how to press his buttons.

Talli watched from the bleachers, cheering on Edgar, her favourite there. She was grouped up with Lily, Albus, Scorpius, Simon and their dorm mate Dallas. Their other dorm mate had promised to join them, but he was running a little late.

"You think he's off kissing that Franny girl?" Dallas wondered, looking toward the castle for Warren.

Simon lifted his shoulders. "No idea, but he's definitely been spending a lot of time with her."

The other boys joined the conversation. Talli tuned them out, not at all interested in hearing who was kissing who. She watched the Gryffindor team swarm around those who were trying out for Slytherin. Talli watched James specifically. He wasn't using his best moves, she noticed, but there was also something odd about his movement.

"James looks kind of funny up there, doesn't he?" she asked, directing the question to no one in particular. Silence went over the group as they waited a few moments for James to have possession of the Quaffle.

"Huh…" Albus said, cocking his head. "Something _is_ off on him."

"His positioning is off, right?" Lily asked, trying to figure him out. "You think he's injured?"

"I'm not sure…" her brother replied, completely baffled.

"I know what it is!" Talli leaped off her seat and ran down the bleachers, ignoring the calls of her friends. " _TIME_!" she shouted. She placed two fingers into her mouth, whistling for the captain of Slytherin's attention.

"Keep playing!" The captain hollered out, facing Talli with a cold look on her face. " _I'm_ the one who calls time around here! Just who do you think you are?!"

"Listen, I need to talk to Edgar!" Talli explained breathlessly. "You've got to stop the game!"

The girl turned away from her, not even bothering to hear her out. "He's busy!"

"I can help him— I can help _you_!"

"Get lost, shorty!"

Talli stamped her foot and stalked up to the girl. "Now, you just wait a second! My friend has been _dying_ to play on this team, and I play with James Potter almost every weekend, if you'll hear me out, you could have one of the _best_ players on your team!"

"And why should I listen to a Gryffindor such as yourself? For all I know, you could be setting me up!"

"Because James Potter is not left handed!" Talli spoke quietly so that only the captain could hear her.

The girl's eyes flew up to the said player, and her mouth gaped a little. She had noticed something off about her rival too but hadn't been able to place what it was.

" _TIME_! _WEASLEY, GET DOWN HERE_!"

"He did it!" Albus cheered when Edgar had blocked one of James's shots at the goal post several minutes later. "What was it?! What was going on with James?!"

"He was playing with his other side. I don't know if he was trying a new style to confuse them, but that's why Edgar was having such trouble, he's used to James's right-handed playing. I know I would have been."

"That's brilliant," Scorpius said, watching the eldest Potter steal the Quaffle from the opposing team. "There's a reason he's the captain. He's a mastermind!"

"Yeah, he's hard to beat."

"I do it all the time."

There was silence amongst the Slytherins for a few seconds as they all exchanged knowing looks.

"I think we're in trouble next year," Albus was the first to speak.

Lily giggled in glee. "You guys are _so_ dead when Talli plays next year, you won't stand a chance when she and James are on the same team."

Albus looked like he was about to be sick. "That's gonna suck."

"Maybe I'll try out next year," Simon said as an afterthought.

"You think so?" Talli asked. She hadn't gotten to play with him much, but what he had done was quite amazing, for just being on a broom for less than a year. He had some natural talent.

"I don't know… Someone's got to give you a hard time while you're up there."

Talli laughed. "Well, I'd be delighted to have you up there with me— course you better start practising now, I'm awfully competitive!"

"I know, I've seen you play. You're really good."

"So are you."

His lips stretched out, happy for her lovely comment. "Thank you."

Simon's birthday came around soon after the tryouts, and his friends surprised him with a bunch of gifts when he woke up that morning.

"Wow," he breathed out, noticing the pile that was stacked onto his trunk. "There's so many gifts here!"

"It's your thirteenth afterall," Scorpius said, sitting on the edge of Simon's bed. "You're officially a teenager!"

"I got you a razor," Edgar laughed, holding it up. "Your hair should start coming in anytime soon!"

Simon shook his head, amused with Edgar's joke. "Thanks, you guys!" It was the first birthday he could remember that was ever acknowledged by someone besides himself.

"I got you a cake!" Warren announced, picking up the six inch, round dessert item. "It's chocolate and cherry!"

"Let's have a piece right now!" Simon's mouth was watering over the sight of it.

"Before breakfast?" Scorpius asked, giving him a disapproving frown.

"Would you forget about rules just this once?" Dallas groaned. "It's a special occasion today!"

Scorpius laughed. "Sure," he relented. "Let's have a piece now!"

Scorpius wasn't too hungry for breakfast after eating cake, but the other boys were, so they all went down in a pack, talking about Simon's new things. He had gotten his very own chess set that had been personalized from Dallas.

"A wizard just isn't a wizard without his own chess set," Dallas had told him.

Scorpius had gotten him a Quidditch playing set, since he had expressed such a high interest in the sport.

"Simon!" Talli shouted when she'd seen the group turn into her view at the doors of the Great Hall. She had been waiting for him. "Happy birthday!" she shrieked excitedly, stuffing a flat package into his arms.

"Thanks!" He ripped apart the wrapping paper, revealing a book about Quidditch.

"Memorize these rules," she stated seriously. "There are hundreds of them, and you don't want to cost your team the game over a simple screw up!" The boys laughed at her choice of words, and Scorpius reminded Talli that Mum wouldn't appreciate knowing that she had used such language.

"I don't care!" Talli huffed. "Mum's not here!"

Just when breakfast appeared onto the tables, Scorpius got a mirror-call from his grandfather. "You'll probably want to find someplace private so we can talk," Grandfather said. "Best not to have any potential eve droppers about."

Simon snatched a banana from a fruit bowl and followed behind Scorpius.

"Okay, ready," Scorpius informed the elder man when they were seated on a bench outside the Great Hall.

"The Criminal Investigation Committee could not deem your information having any credible value. So they could not open a case against Lockberry. Obsession with the number nine is just not enough evidence for an investigation. I'm sorry."

Scorpius was depleted. He felt like he had been locked away in a room, and the key had been thrown away. "I don't know what to do then! She's planning to hurt someone, and there's nothing we can do about it!"

"If you really feel that, then you need to keep your distance from her." Grandfather looked conflicted.

"Is there something else you wish to tell me?"

"I was just going to suggest that perhaps it is time that you explained everything to your parents—"

"Not yet, they'll never believe me—"

"Scorpius," his grandfather cut in firmly. "We— your parents, your grandmother, practically every adult you know— grew up in a dark time, where the words from children were hardly ever taken into consideration, even when they spoke the absolute truth. Things have changed incredibly since then though. If you truly believe this woman is up to no good, you are going to have to talk to someone besides me. My hands are tied, I just cannot help you with this one, son."

"What if they don't believe us?" Simon interjected, all hope was lost in his tone.

"You will never know if you do not try, boys— at this point, you are on your own in that school. I can keep tabs on Picket, but that is really all I can do without getting your parents involved. If you feel that you are in that much danger, you are going to have to tell them. Otherwise, something serious could happen, and by then, it may be too late to ask for help."

Scorpius stiffened. He gave his grandfather a tiny nod. "Then I guess it's time to tell my mum and dad."


	19. The Missing Gene

"I'm going to tell Mother and Father about everything," Scorpius told his sister.

Talli spun around from the bench that she was sitting on. " _Everything_?" she stressed, making sure she had understood him.

"Yes."

She uprooted from her seat. "When?" she asked, eager to know how their mother would react to such news. Dad wouldn't be so hard to convince, but Mum simply despised Divinations.

"Tonight," he said. "It's a Friday night. I'm thinking about seeing if I could go home for the weekend."

"Is Simon going with you?"

Simon gave her a nod in answer.

"May I come?"

"I think it should be just us this time, alright?"

Talli's eyebrows furrowed. "You might need help! I can help!"

He set a hand to her shoulder. "There will be plenty of times for that. Right now, I just want you to enjoy your weekend."

Talli scrunched up her lips in disappointment. " _Fine_ ," she said dejectedly. "I'll just have to arrange a Quidditch game then— with piss poor, _baby_ brooms!"

"That's the spirit!"

"Stuart wouldn't mind some flying tips," Stuart stood, cutting in.

"Guess I'm going to give this guy here some flying tips," she said to Scorpius, thumbing behind her to Stuart.

"Sounds like a plan," her brother approved.

Talli hugged him then. "Good luck, okay? I don't envy you in the slightest."

"You'll know how I'll feel when you go to tell Father that you want to play Quidditch next year."

Talli pulled from her brother. "I'm not telling _him_ , I bet I can get Mum to sign the permission form."

He shook his head, amused with Talli's tactics. "You know very well that she isn't going to sign it without talking to him about it first."

Talli's bottom lip tucked into her mouth in sudden worry. "You're right," she agreed quietly. "How in _Merlin's_ beard am I going to get him to let me play?!"

Scorpius patted her arm. "I'm sure you'll manage. You haven't failed yourself yet."

"See you Sunday then?" she asked when he said that they had to get back to their own table before the meal was through.

"Yeah, I'll be back for dinner."

*/*

"This is demeaning! You realize this, don't you?"

Toogy stretched out on a pool chair, sipping on the lemonade through a straw that Draco had gotten her. "Toogy didn't like the idea of this at first, but she doesn't mind it now."

"If it wasn't because I love my wife, I'd call this whole farce off!"

"Why, Master, I'm insulted! I thought that you loved Toogy too!"

"I didn't mean it like that! It's just—" He lowered his voice into a whisper, "I didn't expect to have to _wait_ on you!"

"It is part of the process, sir. Hermione says that it is the only way my specie can get the respect that we've earned for hundreds of years."

"I'm sure my _father_ isn't waiting on _his_ elves!"

"Toogy doesn't belong to your father," she pointed out, holding out her empty glass for him to refill. Draco scoffed, sneering at it.

"The Madam is watching, sir," Toogy sung out cheerfully, enjoying his annoyance a bit too much.

Draco growled. "I don't treat you _this_ bad!"

"It's part of—"

"The _process_ , I know!"

"Fresh lemons please, master," the blasted house elf called out.

"I'm _not_ talking to you!" he told his wife when he opened the sliding door, stepping out of the pool room. She was standing there with a tickled look on her face.

Hermione giggled. "It's just for a week. I thought you supported their independence."

"This isn't independence!" he shrieked, holding the glass up. The damn decorative umbrella fell out of it and fluttered to the floor! He huffed and bent down, snatching it up. "This is revenge— she's trying to make up for people like my father!"

"You may not realize this, but that creature hovers over you, picking up after your messes, fetching you everything you need. She wakes up when you do, knowing what you need, when you need it. I think you can spare one week out of your life to show her some appreciation!" Hermione's hands were on her hips now, and she was tapping her foot.

"You're _infuriating_!" was all he said to that, squeezing half a lemon into Toogy's glass. The juice squirted into his eye, and he sucked in a breath from its sting.

Hermione wrapped her arms around his waist, kissing the back of his neck. "You only say that because you know I'm right."

"Don't you seduce me, woman!" Draco snarled, half-joking with her, wiggling away out of her grasp, rubbing at his eye. "I'm not happy with you right now!"

She laughed. "What are you upset about, I'm slaving away in the kitchen, making _your_ elf her favourite meal— I've never had her do anything for me."

"But _you_ love to work!"

Hermione shrugged, finding his statement irrelevant. "She deserves this vacation."

Draco sighed. "I know…" he reluctantly admitted.

"Good, now go and serve her that drink."

"Think I can put a little vodka in it? Would she notice?"

" _Draco Malfoy_!" Hermione gasped, smacking him with a towel. "You are not going to squiggle your way out of this by getting your house elf _plastered_!"

"Worth a shot!"

"Master, Scorpius wants to talk with you," Toogy announced upon his return, exchanging the mirror for her lemonade, thanking him for the drink.

"Hello there, chomper!" Draco greeted, pleased to hear from his son. "How's everything there?"

"Not good," his son replied. A somber frown was set to his face.

Draco took a seat in a chair next to Toogy's. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Would it be okay if Simon and I came over for the weekend? We've got something to tell you, and I'd rather it be done in person."

"Um, sure, I don't see why not." He didn't bother asking the boy what was wrong a second time, knowing he wouldn't explain any further.

"Would you arrange a floo time?"

"How's 4:30? All of your classes should be finished by then."

Scorpius nodded. "That sounds alright. Thanks, Father."

"Guess the boys will be joining us for dinner," Draco said to Toogy once the call had ended.

"I do hope everything is okay! He sounded very upset, sir!"

"I know." Draco anxiously scratched at his head. "I'm going to inform Hermione about his coming."

"Alright, Master. Don't you worry about me for the rest of the day." She closed her eyes to relax. "Toogy will be perfectly fine."

"Thanks, Toogs," he said gratefully. "I couldn't ask for a better house elf."

"Toogy knows," she said softly. "She thinks the same about you."

*/*

"We were going to send this out to you this evening," Father told Simon, handing him a new broom, making the teenager's eyes grow twice their size. "But we figured since you were going to be here anyway, we'd wait."

"Happy birthday, Simon!" Mother cheered.

"Is this really mine?" he breathed out in disbelief, running his hand up its handle.

"It most certainly is!"

"I can't accept this," he said, holding it out for Father to take back. "You've done enough for me."

"Why don't you give it a test," Mother suggested, ignoring Simon's pish posh.

"Come on." Scorpius took the sleeve Simon's shirt. "I'll fly with you."

"I just can't believe this…" Simon was at a lost of words, admiring his birthday gift as they walked out the back exit.

"I told you," Scorpius said, mounting his broom. "You're family now, and all Malfoys own nice brooms."

Simon smiled and swung a leg over his new broom. "Race you to the greenhouse?" He kicked off before Scorpius could even answer.

"No fair!" Scorpius complained, attempting to catch up with him. "You cheated!"

"So what is it that you want to tell us?" Mother asked when they were all seated at the table to eat that night.

Scorpius looked over at Simon who tucked his lips into his mouth. Simon took a bite of his food without removing his eyes. He chewed it thoroughly as the boys communicated with their eyes alone.

Scorpius knew what Simon would say if they were alone: " _They're your parents, mate. I'm just here for the ride._ "

"Chomper?" Scorpius hadn't made any response to his mother's question.

"Um…" He adjusted uncomfortably in his seat, unconsciously tapping his fork to his plate. He suddenly felt clammy.

"Sweety, it's okay, you can tell us anything."

Scorpius looked back at Simon one last time for some assistance, but all the boy did was continue to eat, watching his every move.

" _Go on, tell them,"_ his eyes read. " _Don't be a chicken now."_

Mother's neck tilted. She set her fork down delicately and swallowed her mouthful of food. "You two are awfully close…" she observed. Neither boy said anything to that. "Scorpius, if you're going to tell us that you're not attracted to girls—"

Father sprayed the table down with his water, having just took a drink of it. He started choking, having difficulties sucking in air. Mother gave him a dirty look and began mopping up his mess.

"Why does everyone keep thinking I'm gay?!" Scorpius demanded. "You're like the _fifth_ person to assume that!"

"So… you're not?" His father appeared incredibly relieved over that.

" _Draco_!" Mother smacked him in the arm, sending him another look. "That is _not_ an appropriate response!"

" _No_!" Scorpius hollered out, highly irritated that the conversation was not going in the direction that he had originally intended it to go. "I'm _not_ gay!"

"There's nothing wrong with being gay!" Simon spoke for the first time since he had sat.

"He's absolutely right," Mother agreed, glaring daggers at Father.

"Well, being that Scorpius is the sole heir—"

"Are we _really_ going to bring this up again?!"

"It's kind of important," Father stressed, raising his eyebrows pointedly. "It's his duty to keep the bloodline going."

Scorpius stood up from the table, setting his hands onto the top of it, leaning forward. "Would you just be quiet for one second?!" His parents instantly shut up, shocked by his ugly tone. He had never before spoken to them like that in his entire life. "I'm trying to tell you something really important right now, and your useless squabbling isn't helping me in the slightest!"

He bent his head down low, immediately feeling horrid for yelling at them. "I hate it when people fight!" he added, blinking back the sting of oncoming tears. "Especially when it's about me!"

"Sweetheart." Mother rounded the table to hug him. "We're sorry; aren't we?" she asked her husband.

"Very," he chimed hoarsely, disliking himself for causing his son such pain.

Scorpius pressed a couple of fingers to the corners of his eyes. "Would you hear me out then? _Completely_? Before making any judgements?"

Mother nodded.

"Okay." He inhaled deeply and sat back down.

His mother returned to her seat, both she and Father were eyeing him worriedly.

Scorpius uneasily looked at his plate of food. "I have the inner eye," he whispered very slowly. He didn't divert his eyes from his food, preferring an audible response over a visual one. He was forced to pull his eyes from his plate though when several moments had passed without a sound from either of his parents.

Mother was looking at him, but he could tell that she was thinking of what to say before she said anything, likely to keep her promise of not passing judgement. Father was pressed into the back of his chair, thinking over his words, deeply considering them.

And then it was Mother and Father who were communicating with their eyes. Neither one had any idea on the proper way to address the issue.

"It's a very rare gift to have." Father was the first to speak, carefully choosing his words. He leaned forward, pushing his plate away, setting his arms where the plate had been.

"Scorpius," Mother said gently. "What makes you think you have this… _gift_?" She had purposely used Father's word to avoid insulting him.

Simon bent down, taking out a book from his bag that he had brought with him. He held it out for Mother to take. "Chapter Three," he provided.

She chuckled after reading the title. "And where did you get this?"

"Professor Williger. He teaches Divinations, and he also has the inner eye."

She nodded, a slight grin came across her face. "Well that certainly makes sense." She scanned over the chapter that Simon directed her to. "Divination through birds." She shook her head. "It's just another way used to create lies, boys."

"Page fifty-eight specially."

"The Katu?"

"That's it."

"I've never heard of this," she announced, slightly intrigued. She then closed it up with a snap, as if afraid she'd get too engrossed with the subject. "But it's also something that could be made up." She laughed. "I mean, what seer is going to say they don't see these ghosts? There's no physical way to prove their existence."

"People can't see air," Scorpius pointed out, rather cheekily. "Or _gravity,_ or _bacteria_ , it doesn't mean that they don't exist."

"We _can_ see bacteria," Mother pointed out. "It's existence _has_ been proven. You can't believe that these exist when only a tiny amount of people _say_ that they can see them, the very same people who have the tendency to make up stories."

" _I_ don't have the tendency to story tell, and _I_ can see them," Scorpius countered.

"Sweety, I believe that Williger has been feeding your head with hogwash."

"He has not!" Simon defended. "You may not like Trelawny, but Williger is a good man!"

Mother put her hands up, in an effort to calm him down. "I didn't say he was a bad man."

Scorpius snapped his fingers. "Thestals! Not everyone can see those, but they exist!" Mother's lips pressed together, unable to argue with that.

"He got you there," Father drawled, somewhat amused to have her set in her place.

"What's this have to do with you thinking that you're a seer anyway?" she changed the subject, ignoring Father's remark.

"Well, we _could_ be hallucinating about the katu," Scorpius began, "but it's quite strange that we hallucinate the same exact thing at the same exact time, wouldn't you think?"

Mother gave him a caring, yet concerning look. "Sweety, you do not really believe this, do you? Divinations is just a ridiculous skill based entirely on fabricated predictions!"

"It's more than just story telling," her son said, forcing himself to remain calm, quickly growing annoyed. "It's about _feelings_ and _observations_. It's not just about telling the _future_. _Past_ and _present_ also have a lot to do with it."

"Which your mother would know if she didn't drop out during her first year of the class." The entire table went still in an awkward silence over Father's statement.

She lifted her chin up. "Arithmancy is quite a bit more precise than Divinations."

"Oh, is it?" Father challenged.

Mother rolled her eyes. "Oh, of course it is, Draco! Don't be difficult!"

"How many plates are on this table?" Father asked no one in particular.

"Six," Simon answered after a quick count.

"What's that say about our meal, Hermione?"

"Draco—"

"Go on, dear, tell us what _you_ know about the number six. You're just dying to enlighten us, I can see it in your eyes."

"Six is the number of truth," she began explaining without a thought, as if she had recently read it from a book. "It usually makes an appearance when approaching a new path and/or the revealing of something new."

"And how many bowls do we have here? Two?"

"Two is the most feminine number," Mother went on to explain the next number that Father had mentioned. "It is often misunderstood as being the weakest number, but when put to the ultimate test, it unleashes wisdom, power and strength with an unexpected punch. It also signifies the power of pairs and the term 'opposites attract'. And then there's the whole division angle, which requires a much deeper explanation that could take all night."

"So the plates are pointing to Scorpius's announcement of his inner eye, and the bowls lead to the fact that he brought a friend with him to do it."

"Hey, you're pretty good at this!" Simon complimented Father, idolizing his quick thinking.

Father flicked his eyebrows up at his wife, smirking. She huffed in irritation, crossing her arms. "You haven't proven your point in the slightest, Draco!"

"Maybe it doesn't mean what I said after all," Father continued on with a thought. "The plates could instead be related to the revelation of the katu, and the bowls could be directed to Scorpius's little outburst earlier when he was trying to talk— both scenarios are different, and each have technically been interpreted to my choice, right?"

"That's not funny," she told him seriously.

"What's your take on it then?"

"It could lead to the number eight instead," Scorpius suggested when she didn't answer. They all looked at him with heavy interest. "Adding six and two, combining both numbers. That's eight."

"Eight is about trust, karma, discrimination, truth, stability—"

"Wealth, self-reliance, freedom and a whole lot more nouns than that," Father interrupted Mother. "The list is practically endless. Easy to fabricate about honestly _anything_ and _everything_ that suits the interpreter, that's before we consider the time we sat down to eat, the number forks and drinking glasses present, how many courses are being served, and the empty chairs that currently surround us— my point has been proven, yes?" He cocked his head toward Mother, smugly grinning, knowing he had successfully trapped her.

"I suppose…" she reluctantly admitted, having no choice. "The meal could be interpreted in several ways, depending on who's doing the observation."

"Every bit of the same: Arithmancy and Divinations!" Father rose his arms above his head in triumph. "Each left to the interpreter alone!"

"I still have the right to despise it!" she hissed, speaking about Divinations.

"Just as Scorpius has the right to his own opinion about it."

"Indeed," Scorpius agreed with his father.

"You're right." Her face softened. "I'm sorry, Scorpius."

"Just as there are Arithmancy geniuses, there are a few of us who are gifted in other ways," Scorpius said. "Simon and I, we're connected to each other somehow."

"Like a bond?" Scorpius had his father's complete attention with this subject. Since his bond with Mother, it had been one of his favourite types of magic.

"Maybe?" Scorpius lifted up his shoulders, unsure of what the connection was made from. "All I know is that when he has nightmares, I unintentionally channel them— at the same exact moment that he is having them."

"You know, Harry had this same thing with Voldemort when Voldemort was at his worst," Mother said after a thought. Father visibly shuddered. The Dark Lord's forbidden name still brought shivers to his bones.

"Yes, but I don't think Simon's soul is _in_ me."

"No, I was just making a statement. There's probably a logical explanation for this."

"Yeah, it's because I'm a seer."

"But you've only experienced Simon's nightmares?" Father asked. "No one else's?"

"Just Simon's."

"That doesn't exactly sound like a seer then," his mother declared.

"Well, he and I get these feelings," Simon informed. "Like, we know our Potions professor is up to something terrible."

"What do you mean by that?" Mother's requested him to explain further.

Together, the boys told them what was going on with Lockberry, and as they got deeper into the story, Mother appeared to believe them, glancing at Father every so few sentences, biting her lip.

"It sounds to me that she's giving you a hidden message," she said, speaking about the seven-eight-nine rule. "Lockberry is obsessed with the number nine, but with the way she's acting, it makes me think she hates it at the same time."

Father pointed at her, letting her know he was on the same train of thought. "How peculiar," he drawled, pinching his lips together, thinking.

"But we have this unexplainable feeling," Scorpius told them, shaking a little at the thought.

"She's definitely up to no good," Simon added seriously.

"We believe she's out to hurt someone."

"The beka-beka potions are what draw me into this story the most."

"Right," Father concurred with Mother. "Why would she have every student in every grade study just one potion? That doesn't make any sense."

"You think she's going sell them?"

"What, like she's possibly managing some kind of sweatshop operation?" Father looked disgusted with the idea.

Mother swayed her head back and forth, contemplating it over. "It's a pretty brilliant way to make a bucket of Galleons with very little work."

"It definitely could be a possibility." Father nodded.

"You did the right thing by telling us, boys," Mother told them approvingly. "She could be very well up to no good."

"She _is_ up to no good," Scorpius corrected his mother.

"Well, she's innocent until proven guilty, sweety, but I don't doubt you in the slightest." She got up and started clearing the table, kissing him on the top of his head as she passed by. "Come help me, okay?" She requested of the boys, taking her load over to the sink.

It took two weeks before there was anything noticeably done with Lockberry. In the middle of October, Potions had been canceled for three days as Ministry officials did their investigation. It was all over the news, being the most exciting thing to happen in the school for two decades.

Besides those who Scorpius and Simon had told in secrecy, no one really knew what the investigation was about. Parents and students were starting to worry, but everything returned back to normal after those three days.

"The potions were all there," Mother explained. "Until she sells them, she's not guilty."

"So we're supposed to just wait?" Simon wondered, having no idea what to do about the problem.

Mother shook her head helplessly. "She hasn't done anything wrong."

"Charming our memory isn't doing anything wrong?" Scorpius clarified. At this point, a minor charge would be better than nothing.

"It's infuriating, but no. It's a harmless enchantment, and she hasn't tampered with anything. That we know of."

"Or that we can prove," Simon muttered.

"She's a nuisance," Mother told the boys. "But until anything can be proven, there's nothing I can do— short of transferring you to a different school?"

Scorpius shook his head. "No. We're going to figure this out."

She nodded, understanding his choice. "Just be careful. If she _is_ doing something wrong, I don't want you in the mix of it."

"Now, Mother, you're not implying that you're a hypocrite, are you? After all the trouble you sought in your youth, do you actually expect me to be any different?"

"I mean it, Scorpius," she warned him sharply. "You call me if you catch her doing anything illegal. Don't go off handling things on your own."

"Personally, I'd rather just have a normal school year like any other student's _supposed_ to have," Simon said.

Mother smiled softly. "I remember wanting that too. Guess the Magical world is full of too much drama."

"Indeed," Scorpius agreed with a sigh. "I'll do what I can," he promised his mother.

She nodded, happy with that. "See you at Christmas break then. Love you, baby."

"Love you."

"She hasn't eaten anything," Simon whispered to Scorpius a couple days later. He kept glancing over at Lockberry, awaiting for her to take a bite of her food. All she did was sip from her goblet.

"She's probably not hungry. Too anxious from all the heat on her."

Simon picked at his own meal. He'd slip something into his mouth every so often, but he wasn't very hungry himself. "Something's off," he said.

"Yeah." Scorpius felt it too. His stomach was a little bubbly at the moment. This sick feeling he was having appeared as soon as he had sat down.

"I think she's going to do something tonight."

Scorpius nibbled on a piece of bread. It was the only thing he thought his stomach would approve of having. "But what could it be?"

They kept tabs on her throughout the meal. Halfway through, she got up from the Head table. They looked away when she walked up their aisle, not wanting her to know that they were watching her. The hair on Scorpius's back rose up, and he felt like he was going to throw up.

"Hi, Professor Lockberry!" a girl from first year greeted the woman.

"Hello, dear!" Lockberry replied. Her voice came from right behind the boys. They turned their heads to see her leaning up against the wall with her hands behind her back.

"Evening, boys," she greeted with a smile.

"Evening," they replied in unison, highly uncomfortable with her close presence. They turned their heads back. Scorpius swallowed down a lump.

"Are you all enjoying your meal?"

The boys exchanged looks.

" _A strange question…"_ Simon's look read.

 _Especially for someone who hasn't touched their food…_ Scorpius thought.

The realization came to them at the same time, but by then, it was far too late to do anything about it. The room got blurry, and before they could react, everything around them got bigger— or rather, _they_ had gotten _smaller_.

Scorpius looked down at his hands and let out a gasp. They were green and shiny. They also weren't human anymore.

He tried calling out for Simon, but all that came out was a croak— a croak of a _frog_! He was a frog! _Everyone_ was a frog! There were hundreds of frogs, hopping and ribbeting _everywhere_!

He was then lifted off of the bench, and Scorpius grew dizzy from the sudden spinning of the room. It stopped when Lockberry put him up to her face, he sitting in her hand.

"Surprise," she simply said, jabbing a finger into his back, wiggling it. Scorpius went to leap out of her hand but she covered him up with her other one, trapping him into darkness. "Oh, no, no, dear boy. Have I've got plans for you!" He was then dumped into a bag, accompanied by another frog who he sensed was Simon.

The bag swayed as she walked, and a faint hum could be heard from her throat. Questions stirred in the boys' minds; scared and confused questions.

"Hello, Miss Granger-Malfoy, Mr. McBlythe. The bag stopping its swinging due to Lockberry's pause in her steps.

"Hello, professor."

Together Simon and Scorpius attempted to get Talli's attention by hopping and croaking, but it was useless, the girl didn't seem to notice.

"There's an issue in the Great Hall. Would you have any idea where the Headmistress is? I'm hoping she can fix it."

"I haven't seen her since my Transfigurations lesson," Talli answered. "Been busy out on the Quidditch pitch. Meal time is the only time that it's free, you see— what's going on? I'll tell her if I see her."

"Stuart can help you look for her, if you want, " Stuart offered.

"There's been a prank," Lockberry explained. "Don't eat the food. Someone has added the Beka-beka to it."

"Oh, wow! So everyone is a frog right now?" Talli exclaimed, excited at the thought.

"Indeed."

"I'll go find help then!" Talli said.

"Good girl!"

The boys fell backward when Lockberry started walking again. A squeaking door hinge soon followed, and the sounds of the evening could be heard. They were outside, likely at the south exit, given she hadn't walked too far before stepping out. She was heading towards the boathouse.

The splashing of water and the rocking sensation of a boat minutes later substantiated Scorpius's thoughts.

"Connie!" Lockberry called out.

"I'm here," the high voice of a house elf greeted her.

"I need the boat to go fast." A split second later, the boat picked up a quick pace, speeding through the water.

Scorpius listened closely for familiar sounds. About ten minutes later, the boat was put to a harsh stop, and Lockberry was on foot again. There were several voices here, and Scorpius assumed that they were in Hogsmeade.

"Okay, we can apparate now," she told the elf. Scorpius's breath was instantly stolen, and his gut tightened up. The landing was soft, but Scorpius usually never made a hasty recovery after an apparition, so he lay still, catching his breath.

The opening to the bag parted, and a piercing, white light invaded their eyes, momentarily blinding them. Lockberry took each of the boys out of the bag, and set them down on a table. Upon being freed, they took no time to hop off the table, trying to find a way out of the bright room they were in.

"There's no way out," she informed them. "You're stuck here, but go on, see for yourself, I don't mind."

Scorpius tucked himself under a piece of furniture, taking a moment to see what kind of room they were in. Simon joined him, huddling up close to Scorpius, shaking with fear.

The flooring was made of checkered black and white tile. There was a row of chairs along the length of the room, a bed with a bedside table was on the opposite wall. There were no windows, just a solid door with a shelving unit on either side of it. The last wall contained what looked to be a kitchenette: there was a counter with a sink and cabinetry beneath and above it; all painted white.

Scorpius crouched down low, deeply afraid of what was going to happen in his near future.

"You will probably want to find a better place than underneath the table, boys. In just three minutes, the Beka-beka is going to wear off, and you'll have your natural bodies back."

Scorpius would never forget this moment in his entire life. Right then, _exactly_ right then, he realized all the trouble she had gone through for this. The potions weren't being made so that she could sell them. This entire time they had been made so that she could kidnap them without a protection ward kicking in. Once someone was a creature (in this case, a frog), most wards would be void.

Why hadn't they thought of this before?

Because no one had thought that _she_ was after the _boys_. The boys themselves believed that she was after Picket, and no one else thought of her as a kidnapper, just a sweatshop manager.

Now the question was, why did she want Scorpius and Simon? What was she planning to do with them? Why go through so much trouble for a pair of boys? Was it for ransom? It was no secret that Scorpius came from a wealthy family.

Scorpius felt a tingle in his gut and took that as a sign that the spell was wearing off. Reluctantly, he hopped out from underneath the table. Simon followed suit, having no other choice.

When they changed back into their normal bodies, the boys stumbled out of Lockberry's reach. They watched her closely as she worked at the counter, a stand of beakers in front of her.

The house elf that had assisted her magically took their wands from them, rendering the boys absolutely defenseless.

"You may sit down," Lockberry didn't take her eyes off her work, finding it more important. She took a dropper and squeezed a drop of something into each beaker. "Or you can just stand there," she said when neither of the boys moved.

Lockberry turned around to finally face them. "I would have expected a spew of questions by now." Here, she eyed over Scorpius. "I'm interested in knowing what _you're_ thinking— what could _I_ possibly want with _you_ , right?" She leaned against the counter, crossing a leg over the other.

"Why are we here, professor?" Scorpius asked when it was aware that she wasn't going to say anything more until the question was physically asked.

"You have something that I want."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Naturally. People don't tend to get kidnapped for nothing. What _is_ it that you want from us?"

"I saw what happened in Picket's room. We have a camera in every room for our observation on the patients."

Scorpius didn't say anything to that. He nodded his head acknowledging her words, glancing at Simon for his reaction.

 _We're so dead,_ Simon's eyes read. _She knows about us!_

"A camera?" Scorpius questioned, asking for Lockberry to further explain her last statement.

Her lips formed a nasty smile. "I knew one day Simon would find him, the wait was worth it. What I wasn't expecting was his little friend to come along for the visit, but that was nothing compared to what his little friend _did_ during the visit." She pushed herself from the counter and walked to the boys, backing them up to the row of chairs. Her eyes bore into Scorpius's, studying him intensely. "Yes, dear, I know about your little _secret_." Her face suddenly turned bitter. "You ruined seven years of therapy! _Seven_!"

"It's revenge then?" Scorpius's voice was small. "You're going to kill us for interrupting your therapy on Picket?"

" _Scorpius_!" Simon hissed in horror. " _Don't_ _say_ _that_!"

Lockberry laughed. "No, I'm not going to murder you— unless I have to. I expect your full cooperation." She returned back to the counter and opened up a drawer, taking out a thin item that was wrapped in plastic.

"How can we cooperate if we don't know what you want?"

" _It is the scorpion that forges the path to end all magic,_ " she recited Picket's prophecy, twirling the item through her fingers.

Huldah appeared then. Scorpius ducked his head down low, not wanting Lockberry to see that he was looking at something she couldn't see. Huldah perched onto Simon's shoulder and twittered. Scorpius took a guess that she was wondering what was going on, but Simon couldn't make a reply without Lockberry hearing. He didn't know how to tell her that they needed help.

"Yes, I know about Picket's prophecy when he saw you, Mr. Granger-Malfoy. Surprised?"

"Just a bit," he forced an answer, keeping her occupied.

She giggled in delight. "It's strange how the world works, isn't it? I'm here, working on a way to develop a new kind of magic, and here you fall into my lap. The _both_ of you. It's like… it's _meant_ to be." Her eyes lit up with a shine that sent a shudder down Scorpius's back.

"Letters," Simon mumbled to his katu. "Use letters."

"What did you say, Simon dear?"

"We're completely confused, professor," he admitted, watching Huldah disappear through a wall. He seemed more relaxed now that she was off to go seek help. "We still have no idea how we can help you."

She tilted her head, slightly puzzled. "You're offering to _help_ me?"

"You _just_ threatened to kill us if we didn't," Scorpius reminded her. "I'm not sure we have much choice."

"We're Slytherins, Lockberry," Simon reminded her.

"Self-preservation is kind of a prerequisite for us," Scorpius added.

She chuckled, amused. "You say that now, but I have the slightest feeling that you're going to change your minds when I tell you what it is that I want."

"Can we get this over with already?" Scorpius yawned. "It's getting late."

Lockberry's eyebrows lifted. "As you wish; there are three things I want from you. Firstly—" She removed the plastic wrapping from the item she held, showing them what it was. "—I need a sample from each of you."

" _Blood_?!" Simon squeaked out.

"Aye."

"Why? You planning to drink some polyjuice?" Scorpius wondered.

Lockberry sighed. "If you _must_ know, the serum I'm developing needs every type of magic that flows in the bodies of mankind."

"And this serum wouldn't be some sort of dark magic, would it?"

"It's just like you to ask such a question, Granger-Malfoy."

"And it's just like _you_ to avoid from answering it."

She raised the needle up threateningly. "Your snarky tongue is going to get you into trouble one of these days!"

"As you may have noticed, I seem to find myself in a lot of trouble lately."

Simon had been staring at the needle and hadn't said much since its revealing. "What is going to be the purpose of your serum?" he asked.

Lockberry shifted her eyes to him. "Nothing harmful. Nothing dark. Nothing bad." She gave him a shrug.

"There you go again! You didn't answer the question!"

"Mr. Granger-Malfoy, if you can't control you mouth, I will be forced to have Connie gag you!"

Simon sent Scorpius a look that told him to shut it. Scorpius pressed his lips together, choosing to listen to his friend.

"If I'm going to be a part of this new magic, I'd like to know what its purpose is going to be," Simon told her reasonably.

"I suppose I can understand that," she said thoughtfully. She gestured toward the chairs for them to sit and sat herself on the bed. "When this works, it'll allow Squibs to possess magic."

"All this trouble for _that_?" Simon wrinkled his forehead. "You're willing to go to prison for _this_? I was kind of under the impression that you were doing something quite a bit more... _evil_ …?"

"You're not the only one," she said with a tiny smile.

"What makes you believe you can create such a thing? Out of thousands of years, no one has been able to do this before?"

Scorpius was just skeptical as Simon, in fact, he was sure she was lying. He didn't believe her for a second.

"I've been researching Squibs since I was a child. You see, each wizard and witch is born with two magical genes, one is called the charge, that's the part that allows one to build up energy— magical energy— it defines how strong the power of a spell is going to be. The second one is called the slinger, it's the one that allows the caster to actually perform the spell, _this_ is the gene that Squibs are missing. _My_ belief is, if we can inject it into their bloodstream, they will be able to perform magic, likely just as good as their relatives."

"So why are you a professor at Hogwarts if you're working on this? Doesn't that distract you from your main cause?"

Lockberry smirked. "I was only there long enough to snag the two of you— It didn't take as long as I thought it would. Couple of months."

Scorpius's eyes narrowed. He remained quiet like he had 'promised' Simon he would do, but he desperately wanted to ask her what she was talking about. Lockberry was on her second year of teaching… She wasn't making any sense.

"Ah, yes, this must sound confusing to you," she began after looking the boys over. "Let me show you what I mean." She turned to her house elf and gave Connie a nod. The house elf disappeared with a crack, coming back in just a few short seconds with an additional body. There were now two Lockberries in the room. The one who Connie had brought in was bound and gagged. The house elf shoved her into a chair next to Scorpius.

"This is the real Lockberry?" Scorpius questioned, unable to keep quiet for any longer.

"I call her my host," the fake Lockberry answered. "I couldn't use polyjuice. So I had to clone the original and shift my body into it. Naturally, I couldn't let her free while I was pretending to be her."

"Well, that explains a lot about her change in personality…" Scorpius shifted his eyes from one Lockberry to the next. The fact that the real one looked physically unharmed set him a little at ease.

"Are you going to let her go? Now that you've got us?" Simon wondered.

The Lockberry clone hummed out loud. "Maybe. We'll have to see how well you boys listen. Given your track record though, I'd say she might be here a bit longer. But hey, that doesn't matter, right? It's not like she'll be missed. She's earned some infamy at Hogwarts, hasn't she?" She curled her lip at the real Lockberry. "She's a sorry excuse for a potions master, that's for sure!"

The Lockberry who was tied up hadn't looked at any of them, too frightened with her predicament to make eye contact.

"Alright, time to get back to business." The clone hopped off of the bed and approached the boys. "I've answered your questions. It's time for you to cooperate now. Hold out your arms, this will only take a few seconds."

"What if we don't?" Scorpius bravely asked. "Are you really going to murder us? It sounds to me that you need us alive."

"I can keep you locked away for _years._ I did it to Picket." She tossed her head to the real Lockberry. "That woman has been here since the beginning of the summer. No one has _ever_ known."

"You said you've been waiting on me for years. It sounds like you were using Picket to find me. That was all done just for a vial of my blood?" Simon asked.

" _Specifically_ yours," she emphasized.

"Why is mine so special?"

"In order for the magic to work, the Squib must receive the gene from a magical person who has matching DNA."

"Are you implying that I have a relative who is a Squib?"

The clone grinned and gripped Simon's wrist, slowly out stretching his arm. "You're pretty smart, Simon." She pushed his sleeve back, pausing to stare at the scars she had exposed.

"What are you waiting for?" Simon asked, heavily uncomfortable with her staring.

The Lockberry clone pushed the needle into Simon's arm, making him wince. "Tell me, have you boys ever seen me cast a single spell?"

Her words hit Scorpius like a brick. The memory of being called up to the front of the classroom to demonstrate how to brew the beka-beka instantly came to mind. How she stared at his hands the entire time, like she had never seen hands work before. She had been _envious_. Scorpius could brew potions, and _she_ couldn't. Who ever was imposing as Lockberry was a Squib!

"It's all becoming clear, isn't it?" the Lockberry clone asked when Simon stared at her with a gap at his mouth.

"Who are you?!" he demanded.

"All in time, dear. For now, you're just here for the samples that I need."

Scorpius jerked his arm away when she went to grab his wrist. "You aren't getting any of mine!" he snapped adamantly.

"Oh no?" she challenged. "Tell me, Mr. Granger-Malfoy, do you know what an electric shock shake is?"

"A joke item produced by the Weasleys," he answered cautiously.

"What would you think if someone had restructured them to make a bigger… _shock_? What if each chair in Hogwarts had one underneath it, and all someone would have to do is cast a spell, and they'd all detonate at the same time? What do you think the bottom of your little sister and all your friends would look like after something like that happened?"

Scorpius glared at her for a few seconds, swallowing down a gulp of bile. "You're a Squib," he countered. "You can't cast a spell to do that."

"Well, not me, but…" She spun around, gesturing to Connie. " _She_ can…"

Simon nudged him. Irritated, Scorpius shoved at him back, not liking that he was being cornered by this psychopath who thought it was okay to threaten the lives of many students.

He grit his teeth. " _Fine_ ," he muttered, extending out his arm, jerking up his sleeve. "Don't think you've won though!"

She jabbed a needle into his arm, purposely applying more pain than need to be. He bit back a yelp, not allowing her the satisfaction of knowing she had hurt him.

"One last thing, _sunshine_..." The Lockberry clone smirked in delight, capping the needle. "You're going to hand over your precious amulet too."


	20. Double Down

"Wait here," Talli instructed Stuart at the bottom of the staircase that led up to the Gryffindor girls' dorms.

"Stuart thought you were going to search for the headmistress?"

"We will, but first I need to get my mirror, the one my dad made me."

"Why for?"

"There's no time for questions. I'll be back down in just a few."

Talli ran up the stairs two at a time and grabbed the mirror. She needed to talk to her mum. Something was up with Lockberry, and Scorpius had told her that Mum wanted to be contacted if Lockberry did anything suspicious.

"Is Mum there?" Talli asked Dad who had answered the mirror-call.

"She's not. Is it important?"

"Well, possibly. My friend Stuart—"

"A _boy_?" her dad cut her off, instantly interested in what she had to say.

" _Daddy_!" Talli groaned. "Let's not talk about _him_ right now— you have nothing to worry about, _trust_ me. " She visibly shuddered at the thought of Stuart in the aspect that her father was concerned about. " _Anyway_ ; Stuart and I didn't get back inside from flying practice until a little later than we probably should have. We stumbled across Professor Lockberry on our way to the Great Hall. She told us that everyone had been turned into frogs due to a prank!"

Dad laughed. "That's actually a brilliant prank! Is James behind that one?"

"Well, that's what I'm trying to get at! Lockberry said the food had been contaminated, but she wasn't a frog herself! _And_ she was on her way _out_ of the school! I think she did something, Dad. She had a bag with her. I'm wondering if she stole something."

Dad thought on it and gave her a nod. "You could be on to something. I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, the Beka-beka potion is a harmless potion that only lasts an hour, so at least your professors and schoolmates will be back to normal shortly."

"Yeah. I just hope she's caught before too long."

"I'll call Harry. He's working tonight."

The Auroras took statements from multiple students, and it was apparent that Lockberry had likely committed a crime. They just didn't know exactly what she had done.

"Talli?" Stuart asked for her attention. She was sitting with Lily and the other girls at the Gryffindor table, discussing what Lockberry could have possibly done. Stuart had been laying on the bench beside her, looking up at the starry sky of the ceiling above, occasionally giving his input to the conversation.

"What is it?"

"Why would there be things stuck to the underside of the benches?"

"Huh?"

Stuart pointed at something under the table, and she leaned over to see that he was pointing at the bench on the other side. She could faintly see a metal device every so few inches that ran up the length of the bench. Talli swung her legs out from underneath the table and peeked beneath the bench she sat on. Just like the one across the table, this one also had a bunch of devices stuck to the underside of it.

"That's strange," she said, assessing one. She knew they were joke products that the Weasley twins had designed decades ago, but found it odd that they were stuck to the benches. "Check the other benches," she told him and went to the Ravenclaw house table, one of their benches being the closest to her. There were electric shock shakes stuck to the bottom of this bench too. The other girls and Stuart informed Talli that all the other benches were the same way.

"Even the head table," Lily said. "It's like someone is trying to shock everyone in the entire school."

"That can't be a cheap prank," Vanity pointed out. "There must be _hundreds_ of them here. I'm not sure a student could afford that."

"Uncle Harry!" Talli called out, running up to him. Vanity was right, no student did this. This had to be Lockberry's doing.

"Yes?" Uncle Harry asked. He and Uncle Ron were seated at the far end of the Gryffindor table, finishing up some paperwork.

"There's a bunch of electric shock shakes under all the benches, and I don't think a student put them there. I think Lockberry did it."

The wizards peeked under the table at the same time, inspecting the benches. "Odd…" Uncle Ron said after a close look. "Something's different about them."

"Yeah?" Uncle Harry questioned.

"I think someone has altered these. Electric shock shakes have no wires."

"How come they have electric in their name then?"

Uncle Ron laughed. "When Fred and George invented these, they didn't even know what electric really meant. They assumed it had to do with energy, which isn't exactly wrong. Electric is just one _type_ of energy though, and they didn't know that at the time."

"Wait, so these things are useless here then," Uncle Harry said, removing one from the bench and eyeing it over.

"Why do you say that?"

"Electronics don't work in Hogwarts," Talli reminded Uncle Ron.

"But that's what I'm saying, they're not really electronic." Uncle Ron leaned over the table and stretched out his arm to explain how they work. "You see, the magic used to create this is stored in this little rubber cap. It's not Muggle technology, there's no battery; Muggle technology would require a battery, some sort of charged power, so it should still make a good zap to its victim because it's a magical shock. I'm just confused why there's even a wire to begin with."

"We should try this out," Uncle Harry suggested. "Let's see what difference one, little wire does."

"Wait…" Uncle Ron stopped him from engaging the device, grabbing Uncle Harry's wrist. "What's that?" He pointed to a sky blue blob that was connected to the rubber cap. It was securing the wire to it.

"Not sure."

Talli stood up on the bench, leaning over Uncle Harry to get a closer look. "It looks like clay… or is it putty?"

Uncle Ron's eyes bulged out from his sockets. He had trouble breathing, and he struggled to say something.

"What is your problem?!" Uncle Harry demanded.

"Put-Put it d-down!" Uncle Ron finally sputtered out. "Put it down, Harry! _Carefully_!"

Uncle Harry did so but not without giving his friend a look.

Talli leaped off of the bench, realizing why Uncle Ron had reacted so strangely. " _OUT_!" She screamed. " _EVERYBODY_ _OUT_! Demolition Putty! This room has been rigged up with explosives!"

*/*

Scorpius held his head in his hands, pulling at his long hair in devastation. He could feel that it needed washing. It was a tangled mess now, matted down with sweat and knotted from his struggling to break out of Connie's strong hold when she had grabbed him a while ago.

The boys had been literally tossed into a room to spend the night in. The only thing Scorpius could be grateful for was that he and Simon were together.

He felt empty. Depleted. It was like his existence didn't matter anymore. He was useless to the world now.

"You did what you had to do," Simon told him helplessly. "She would have hurt your sister if you didn't give it up."

His logic didn't make the situation any better. Without his amulet, Scorpius couldn't help people. Besides that, it was an important family heirloom, and now some deranged psycho possessed it for whatever reason.

Lockberry's clone refused to explain why she wanted the amulet. She loved that it had upset Scorpius when he had no choice but to hand it over to her.

Simon sat down next to him, close enough that their thighs touched. "We'll get it back," he promised determinedly. "You said so yourself, you and the amulet have some sort of connection. If that's really true, nothing can keep you apart for long."

Scorpius lifted his head up, dropping his hands into his lap. He could barely see his friend's face in the dim light that had been provided in the room— enough to basically get to the connected bathroom and back. "What if I was wrong?"

Simon set a hand to his friend's shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "That kind of thought isn't going to help us none." He heaved out a sigh, standing up. "We need to bust out of here."

"We're wandless and second years. I don't think we're getting out of here."

"You think your mother thought the same when she was our age?"

Scorpius shifted his feet uncomfortably. "I'm not my mother."

"No. You're just as good— if not better. You're powerful, Scorpius. You created magic at the mere moment of your creation. You've healed dozens of people who were considered a lost cause. You've saved me at least twice. Don't tell me that you don't believe you can do extraordinary things."

"I didn't do those things on my own. My amulet assisted me."

"You may not have your amulet, but you've got me."

"We can't—"

"We _can_ ," Simon insisted. "Last year, you told me to have a little faith when I had lost all hope. You proved to me that you can do _anything_ you set your mind to. Don't fail me now, sunshine. We've got nothing to lose if we try and _everything_ to lose if we just sit here and mope. Lockberry's clone must be stopped. We both know it."

Simon was right. They had to get out of this place. Who knew what the clone was going to do to them now that she had what she wanted.

Scorpius stood up from the bed. "Well, do you have any ideas, tough guy?"

"Wandless magic?"

"Somehow I think simple magic isn't going to work here."

"What about power in pairs?" Simon said in deep thought.

"Like combined magic?" Scorpius asked, wondering if he was understanding him correctly.

"Yeah…" Simon answered slowly, thinking on it. "You channel my nightmares, maybe we do have this type of bond together. We're both seers, the amulet wanted us together, Lockberry wanted us both. We _could_ have a joint power."

Scorpius shook his head, finding Simon's idea a little far-fetched. "I don't know…"

"Oh, come _on_ , Scorpius!" Simon demanded out in frustration. "What the hell happened to your faith?!"

"I've been _kidnapped_ , Simon!" Scorpius shouted. "By some crazy woman, who we honestly don't even know she's a _woman_ at this point. She vowed to hurt us and practically the _entire_ school! She took the _one_ thing that gave me my ability to do _anything_! So pardon me if I'm just a _little_ wary of everything right now! I don't even know if I'm going to see my family again, and all I can think about is what that woman is up to! _Why_? Why _me_ , why _you_? Why my _amulet_?!"

"We can think of all that _later_ ," Simon stressed firmly. "Now listen to me, I feel that _together_ , you and me, _we_ can get out of here, but we can't unless you actually put some _effort_ into it, alright? Please? I just want to get out of here! I'm scared too! In case you haven't noticed, you're not standing alone here!"

Scorpius swallowed down the threat of a breakdown. He felt like crying right where he stood. "Okay," he told his friend with a quiver to his voice. "Let's get out of here then."

They hurried to the door that enclosed them into the room. There were no windows, so this was their only way out. Scorpius ran his hand down the jam of it, inspecting every detail that he could. It wasn't too easy with the lack of lighting. The hinges were the style that had screws to secure it to the jam. The locking mechanism had no latch or knob, needing an actual key to open it, that meant the alohomora spell wouldn't work here.

"Take my hand," he instructed Simon. "If we do have some kind of magical bond, I'm going to need all the help that I can get." Simon didn't argue. Scorpius felt his friend's hand grip his. "Close your eyes. We need to relocate the screws— on my command, send them to the waste bucket that's in the bathroom."

With eyes shut so tight that it hurt, the boys focused on the energy in their magical core. Their arms shook as they thought of the screws wiggling loose from their spot in the door.

" _Scorpius_!" Simon struggled out after a few moments. "I'm getting tired…!"

"Just a few more seconds!" Scorpius pleaded. His legs grew weak. He was breathing heavy. His pulse was racing. Sweat was rolling down his body from every pore.

" _NOW_!"

They released their energy, and Scorpius pulled his friend to the side of the door jam, getting them out of the way for the crash of the door falling in.

"It worked!" Simon gasped out, catching his breath, looking at the fallen door. Light shined in from the hallway.

Scorpius scrambled to his feet, stumbling from fatigue. "Let's go!"

"Which way?" Simon questioned once they were in the hallway. They could go either left or right.

"We should help the real Lockberry escape," Scorpius decided, choosing to go right.

"We don't know where she is!" Simon protested. "We can get her help after we help ourselves!"

"No." Scorpius was breathless, still weak from their spell casting. "We won't leave her here with that psychopath— horrible teacher or not!"

"So we're going to risk _our_ chance? And we don't even know where to look!"

Scorpius stopped at a door, looking up at its room number. "The psycho clone is obsessed with nine, remember?"

"Room 18…" Simon read out. He lifted up his shoulder, unable to argue.

"Need help?"

The boys jumped a mile, yelping out.

"Professor Williger!" Simon breathed out when the man appeared next to them.

"Didn't mean to startle you boys." Williger brushed off speckles of red glitter from his clothing. "Your katu messaged me that you needed help? The school is looking for you. Good to see you're safe though. What's going on?"

"We'll explain later," Scorpius told him in a rush. "Open this door please, we must see if Professor Lockberry is in there!"

Williger had his wand out before Scorpius could even finish, but he was in no hurry to open the door. "You might not want to," he warned.

"Of course I do! Stop messing around, do it! _Please_!"

"When we open this door, there's no turning back."

"We're already in trouble, and if we don't hurry, the clone will get us!"

Williger took Scorpius by the shoulders and looked him square in the eye. "It's a feeling I'm having, Scorpius," he said very seriously. "You need to prepare yourself. Things are going to be ugly from here on out. And you are going to have to stay strong." He turned his head, looking at Simon too. Williger set a hand to Simon's shoulder, a hand was on each of them now. "You need to stick together. There's no way out of this alone."

"What do you mean?" Simon asked, narrowing his eyes. "What are you seeing?"

Williger shook his head and turned from them. "I don't tell my sightings, boys." The professor was usually a man with a calming, friendly voice, but the tone he used right at this moment was an unwelcoming one. It was cold, hollow and distant. Troubled.

Scorpius and Simon didn't have time to think much on that though. Williger unlocked the door and stepped back behind the boys, gesturing them into the room. He did not look them in the eyes.

The room was identical to the one that they had been earlier hauled up in, only the light in this one was brighter. Lockberry's body lay on the floor at the foot of the bed, hogtied. The boys knew it was the real Lockberry.

"Professor?" Scorpius shook at the limp woman. He sat back, looking at her open eyes in horror.

She wasn't sleeping.

"Scorpius…" Simon called for his attention, pulling him up from his knees.

" _What_?!" Scorpius demanded out sharply, irritated that he didn't get to Lockberry in time.

Simon pointed to the wall that the head of the bed was up against. Scorpius gripped Simon's arm as he read the words that had been written in big, bold black letters:

_Sadly, you took too long._

_Remember her face, nines._

_This could be you in the future._

_Try not to forget that fact._

_Until next time._

_Signed: Seven_

Scorpius knelt back down next to Professor Lockberry. Tears trailed down his cheeks. She was dead. Lockberry was dead because of him.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, closing her eyelids with his hand, putting her to rest. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you."

*\\*

"Scorpius?"

Scorpius barely heard the man requesting for his attention. It was three in the morning, and he still hadn't slept a wink. He was absolutely worn out, and even though he had been through a great deal of terrifying things in the last few hours, all he wanted to do was sleep.

"Can't I go home now?"

"There are still questions that need answers."

Scorpius groaned. He lay his head on the table that he was sitting at. It was cold and hard. Not exactly comfortable to use as a pillow.

"I've told you all that I know."

"You were found at the scene of a dead body, and unfortunately your story is a bit precarious."

Scorpius lifted his head up. He was trying hard to stay awake, not wishing to wake up in this very same room, preferring to sleep in his own bed. "You don't believe me?" he asked the blond man who he faintly remembered had introduced himself as Mr. Tiggs.

"I'd like to," Mr. Tiggs said. "But a Squib is not capable of any magic. Lockberry showed no signs of physical harm. We're pretty sure that she was murdered with the killing curse."

"Then it was her house elf," Scorpius told him judiciously.

"House elves don't use the Avada Kedavra curse."

"Not that I believe your statement about that, but what are you implying? That one of _us_ killed her?"

Mr. Tiggs tilted his head and cleared his throat. "I want to know exactly what happened."

"And I _told_ you! We were kidnapped—"

"By a _clone_ of your professor," the man interrupted skeptically, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, a _clone_ ," Scorpius emphasized slowly. "She or he— I don't know what gender this psychopath is— threatened to kill my friends and the entire school unless we gave her our blood. And then she demanded that I give her my amulet. After that, she had her ruddy house elf lock us up in a room, and we busted out—"

" _Busted_? And how did you _bust_ out again?" Mr. Tiggs was poised with a quill, ready to write down Scorpius's answer.

"Simon and I…" Scorpius had already explained this once to the man, and it had been difficult enough the first time. He knew Mr. Tiggs didn't believe that he and Simon had some sort of magical connection. "We worked together. We combined our magic and took the hinges off of the door. The screws are in the bathroom waste bin if you don't believe me."

"Second years performing wandless magic. _Undetected_ wandless magic." He raised his eyes at Scorpius in doubt.

"It's not _unheard_ of for young wizards to perform wandless magic," Scorpius growled.

"No, it's just a bit rare," Mr. Tiggs pointed out. "And it doesn't mean that'd it be untraceable."

"Anyway," Scorpius made to continue. "We went to go help Lockberry—"

"And you knew precisely where your professor was being imprisoned at?"

"The kidnapper is obsessed with the number nine. We were in room nine ourselves, and I took a good guess that Professor Lockberry was being held in eighteen."

Mr. Tiggs flipped through a couple of papers. "This is where you met your Divinations professor, Myal Williger."

"He's not really _my_ professor since I'm not taking his class, but yes, Professor Williger got our message that we needed help—"

"Your message?" Tiggs interrupted again, deeply interested in this. "You didn't mention this before. What message? How did you send a message to Williger without your kidnapper knowing?"

Scorpius stirred in his seat. That was a slip up he wished he could take back. He figured it was best to tell the truth though. "I'm a seer, and he—"

Mr. Tiggs burst out laughing. "I'm not sure you're understanding the situation here, Scorpius; you're a _suspect_ in the _murder_ of your professor. This is no time for stories."

Scorpius's mouth closed sharply. His pulse felt like it had stopped. He knew the man didn't believe him about casting magic with Simon, but to be accused of Lockberry's murder?! That was _insane_!

"I— We _didn't_ kill her!"

Tiggs shrugged. "It sure looks like you did. You just admitted to doing wandless magic, and if that was the case, together, you and Simon very well could have casted the killing curse, unlike the non-existing Squib you speak of."

"I'm _not_ lying!"

The man leaned over the table, setting his hands to it, propping himself over Scorpius. "There's no proof that says you're telling me the truth," he told him under his breath.

"The video cameras!" Scorpius said suddenly. "The clone said she has a camera in every room. They're there, you'll see!"

"What in the bloody hell is a video camera?"

"It's a camera that records live events! Go! Go see!"

"What happened after you entered room eighteen, the one you knew Lockberry was imprisoned in?" Mr. Tiggs pulled his stack of papers toward him, flipping one over.

"Aren't you going to see if the cameras are still—"

"Answer the question."

Scorpius stiffened. Clearly this man didn't care to know who had really murdered Lockberry. He was determined to make this a quick case.

"Lockberry was on the floor," Scorpius whispered as tears welled up into his eyes. The image of her lifeless face burned into his mind.

"And?"

"She was gone before we had even entered."

"Mmhmm," Mr. Tiggs said, humming out in doubt. "And when did you kill her?"

"We didn't."

"Somebody did. Who was it?"

"The clone!"

"Scorpius—"

"You know what," Scorpius snarled quietly, sick of running around in circles. "We're done here—"

"No, we're not—"

" _Yes_ , we _are_. You send my mother in here. _Now_. I'm no longer going to speak with you." He crossed his arms over his chest, creasing his eyebrows.

"If you don't cooperate, we can't make a deal."

Scorpius said nothing, keeping his vow. He rolled his head back, closing his eyes, showing the man that he was serious.

"As you wish," he heard Tiggs mutter. "But your mummy isn't going to be here to save you forever, boy."

"Mum!" Scorpius ran to her when she entered a few minutes later.

"How are you doing?" she asked, hugging him tightly.

"They think we murdered her!" Scorpius cried in utter disbelief.

"Yes, I know," she said quietly. "We're in the process of sorting that out."

"He says we're lying, Mother!" Scorpius buried his face into her chest, sobbing. "We didn't do it!"

She rubbed his back. "Of course you didn't, baby."

Scorpius abruptly pulled from her. "You need to go back to the asylum," he told her in desperation. "The clone implied that she records everything! There are cameras there, Mother!"

She nodded, looking at him. She squeezed him into another tight hold. "It'll be okay," she told him. "This will be over soon. Your father and I will check it out. You don't need to talk to anyone more if you don't want to."

"I just want to go to sleep!" he cried out. "I'm so tired!"

She nodded against him. "Alright, baby. I'll have them transfer you."

"Can Simon be with me?"

Mother's lips thinned. "I'll see what I can do," she promised.

*/*

"This is preposterous!" Lucius shouted. "Those boys are victims! You know it as well as I do!"

"Luci," Narcissa softly called unto him, pulling him back from the man that was keeping their grandson locked in a room with an Interrogator. "Yelling is not going to make him listen."

"I'll do more than yell," he threatened with an ugly look.

"Our hands are tied," the man behind the desk helplessly announced.

Lucius balled up his fist. "I am getting _really_ tired of that phrase!"

The man behind the desk swallowed hard and backed up in his chair, putting distance between them. "We're looking into it, Mr. Malfoy. We're taking their statements now, and we're cross referencing them."

"If you actually think that a pair of _second_ year boys would set up the school with _explosives_ , frame their professor for their own _kidnapping_ and then murder her hours later, then you're an _imbecile_ , and I will make sure the world knows it!"

"We want to be _thorough_ ," the official stressed. "This is a very serious issue."

"My bloody arse! You are upset because you have got a killer on the loose, and instead of actually doing your job, you are wasting time and resources on two innocent _children_! Nothing has changed in two decades! It's always the fault of a defenseless _child_ with you people!"

"Lucius." Narcissa tugged at his robes, gesturing to an approaching Hermione.

"How's he doing?" Lucius asked, completely forgetting about the desk jockey.

"As good as anyone in his shoes," she informed regrettably. "I've got to go talk to the Minister, if you wouldn't mind staying here for a bit—"

"Run along, dear," Narcissa permitted. "You go work your magic. If you need Draco, he's at the school."

Hermione gave her cheek a quick peck. "Thank you," she said in pure gratitude. She marched away, dedicated to getting her son of of this mess.

*\\*

"This is an actual prison cell," Simon stated forty minutes after Scorpius's mother had visited him.

"We're In-Holding," Scorpius explained. "It's where they put dangerous people before their trials."

Simon slammed his fist to the bed he lay in, creating a dull thump. "I can't believe that they think we did this!"

"If my mother finds those cameras, we'll be cleared of the blame."

"What if she doesn't? Do wizards send kids to prison?"

"No," Scorpius answered quietly.

"What happens to kids who commit serious crimes?"

"They snap our wands, and we live forever as wizards who aren't allowed to cast magic— if we do, _then_ we go to prison."

"I don't want to go to prison, sunshine," Simon announced sadly. "Not for something I didn't even do."

Scorpius tucked his hands behind his head and took in a deep breath. He closed his sleepy eyes, ready to finally catch a few winks of much-needed sleep. For a bed In-Holding, it really was awfully comfortable. "We won't," he said, having faith in his family. "Our family won't let that happen. They've all been in enough hot water in their lives, they'll get us out. Get some sleep."

*/*

"Why wouldn't the killer take these with her?" Draco asked, watching his wife turn on her computer. She had found the cameras but needed Muggle technology to see what was on them.

"The message on the wall implied that she wanted and _expected_ the boys to escape, so maybe she wants people to see this footage too."

"As in, she doesn't want the boys getting credit for her doing?"

"I don't know the reason, Draco," Hermione admitted. "She could have forgotten about them, though I highly doubt it."

They bitterly watched Simon and Scorpius being thrown into a room where it was too dark to see anything once the door had shut them in. Draco and Hermione struggled hearing how upset the boys were in their predicament. The hair on Hermione's neck stood on end. She swallowed hard, blinking back tears. It made her sick that she couldn't help her baby with such a horrifying event in his life.

Hermione couldn't help smiling when they boys decided to work together though. Her strong, little boy. He was so special. _They_ were special.

"It's amazing they did that without their wands," Draco spoke hoarsely when the door had fallen in and the boys had stepped out of the room.

"They work beautifully together." Hermione switched out the microSD card from her reader, slipping in the next one. She had to go through file after file until she came across one where Lockberry was escorted into Room 18 by the murdering clone.

"There!" Hermione pointed. She conjured up a click cap to record the screen.

"What's she doing?" Draco wondered, bending down to get to a better look at the screen.

" _It's time now,"_ the clone was saying. " _Everyone must know how serious I am. Unfortunately, you're the one who gets to pay the price. I want to thank you for being my host, it's time for a new one though."_

The clone took out a needle, and the real Lockberry started fighting for her life. She was helpless against her binds though. She yelled against the rag that was wrapped around her mouth.

" _It won't hurt,"_ the clone assured her. " _Just one, little sharp…"_ The clone stuck the needle into Lockberry's neck. " _Pinch…"_

Lockberry's body went still after a few seconds of a good struggle, and the clone disappeared altogether.

"Where did she go?!" Draco demanded.

" _There_!" Hermione pointed to the screen. Something was scurrying across the flooring.

"A… scorpion?" Draco questioned, tilting his head.

"Scorpius's amulet," Hermione said. "Remember, Anne Marie Green was said to be an animagus in the form of a scorpion? What if she wasn't an animagus? Maybe the amulet allowed her to transform into a scorpion, and everyone was made to believe differently?"

"That's why it's shaped like a scorpion!" Draco then frowned in confusion. "There are papers saying she was an animagus though. She registered herself as one."

"She was a crafty woman, she probably wanted everyone to think that she was an animagus," Hermione speculated.

She abruptly turned from the desk, heading toward the floo. "Let's get the boys out of In-Holding! We've proven their innocence. Now we just got to catch the actual murderer!"


End file.
